As filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on
Securities Act File No. 333-238475
Investment Company Act File No. 811-23570
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
| ☒ THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ||
| ☐ Pre-Effective Amendment No.__ | ||
| ☒ Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 | ||
| AND/OR | ||
| ☒ THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ||
| ☒ Amendment No. 12 |
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
54 W 40th Street
New York NY 10018
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: 646-741-2438
The Corporation Trust Company
Corporation Trust Center
1209 Orange Street
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(Name and address of agent for service)
Copy to:
JoAnn M. Strasser
Thompson Hine LLP
41 South High Street, Suite 1700
Columbus, Ohio 43215
| ☐ | Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective:
| ☐ | Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) |
| ☒ | On May 9, 2021 pursuant to paragraph (b) |
| ☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
| ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
| ☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) |
| ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485. |
If appropriate, check the following box:
| ☐ | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment |
Simplify Volatility Premium ETF
Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF
Simplify Gold Strategy ETF
Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF
each a series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds
PROSPECTUS
|
Advised by: Simplify Asset Management Inc. 54 W 40th Street, New York, NY 10018 | |
| www.simplify.us | phone: 1 (855) 772-8488 |
This Prospectus provides important information about the Funds that you should know before investing. Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference.
These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission or Commodity Futures Trading Commission nor has either passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Shares of each Fund are listed and traded on the NYSE Arca, Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Investment Objective: The Simplify Volatility Premium ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to approximately one-fifth to three-tenths the inverse (-0.2x to -0.3x) of the performance of the S&P 500 VIX short-term futures index while also seeking to mitigate extreme volatility.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, sell, and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses(1) | |
| Interest Expense | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(2) | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| (1) |
| (2) |
Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | |
| $ |
$ |
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategies: The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to approximately one-fifth to three-tenths the inverse (-0.2x to -0.3x) of the performance of the S&P 500 VIX short-term futures index (the “Index”) for a single day, not for any other period. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund primarily purchases or sells futures contracts, call options, and put options on VIX futures. The Fund will hold cash, cash-like instruments or high-quality short term fixed income securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) fixed income ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by companies that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. The Fund also applies an option overlay strategy in seeking to mitigate against extreme volatility.
Option Overlay Strategy
Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s option overlay to mitigate against extreme volatility. The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over the counter (“OTC”) put and call options on the Index or Index exchange traded products. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
The option overlay is a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and to add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
1
The Fund’s returns are intended to possess convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up and down in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market in positive markets; while declining less than the market in negative markets. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value.
The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from the Fund’s stated multiple times the return of the Index for the same period. These differences can be significant. Daily compounding of the investment return of the Fund can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and the volatility of the Index may be at least as important to the returns of the Fund as the return of the Index. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The NAV calculation time for the Fund typically is 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).
The Index is a non-investable index that measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500. For these purposes, “implied volatility” is a measure of the expected volatility (i.e., the rate and magnitude of variations in performance) of the S&P 500 over the next 30 days. The Index does not represent the actual volatility of the S&P 500. The Index is calculated based on the prices of a constantly changing portfolio of S&P 500 put and call options.
The Fund may engage in daily rebalancing to position its portfolio so that its exposure to the Index is consistent with its daily investment objective (-0.2x to -0.3x). The impact of changes to the value of the Index each day will affect whether the Fund’s portfolio needs to be rebalanced. For example, if the level of the Index has risen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should fall (assuming there were no Creation Units issued). As a result, inverse exposure may need to be decreased. Conversely, if the level of the Index has fallen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should rise (assuming there were no Creation Unit redemptions). As a result, inverse exposure may need to be increased. The time and manner in which the Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and other circumstances at the discretion of the adviser.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the commodities market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary, which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same Investment Company Act of 1940 asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Principal Investment Risks:
The following describes the risks the Fund bears with respect to its investments. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.
VIX Futures Risk. VIX futures contracts can be highly volatile and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses when buying, selling or holding such instruments; you can lose all or a portion of your investment within a single day. Investments linked to equity market volatility, including VIX futures contracts, can be highly volatile and may experience sudden, large and unexpected losses. VIX futures contracts are unlike traditional futures contracts and are not based on a tradable reference asset. The Index is not directly investable, and the settlement price of a VIX futures contract is based on the calculation that determines the level of the VIX. As a result, the behavior of a VIX futures contract may be different from a traditional futures contract whose settlement price is based on a specific tradable asset and may differ from an investor’s expectations. The market for VIX futures contracts may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events and policies, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics), changes in interest rates or inflation rates. High volatility may have an adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. An investor in any of the Fund could potentially lose the full principal of his or her investment within a single day.
Daily Rebalancing Risk. The daily rebalancing of the futures contracts underlying the Index may impact trading in such futures contracts. For example, such trading may cause Futures Commission Merchants to adjust their hedges. The trading activity associated with such transactions will contribute to the existing trading volume of the underlying futures contracts and may adversely affect the market price of such underlying futures contracts and in turn the level of the Index.
Short-term investment Risk. Investors holding shares of the Fund over longer-term periods may be subject to increased risk of loss. The Fund is intended to be used only for short-term investment horizons. An investor in the Fund can lose all or a substantial portion of his or her investment within a single day. The longer an investor’s holding period in the Fund, the greater the potential for loss.
2
Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the investment management strategy may not produce the intended results and may negatively impact Fund performance. The adviser’s overlay strategy will not fully protect the Fund from declines in the market.
Cash or Cash Equivalents Risk. At any time, the Fund may have significant investments in cash or cash equivalents. When a substantial portion of a portfolio is held in cash or cash equivalents, there is the risk that the value of the cash account, including interest, will not keep pace with inflation, thus reducing purchasing power over time. Additionally, in rising markets, holding cash or cash equivalents may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Compounding Risk. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from the Fund’s stated multiple times the return of the Index for the same period.
Derivatives Risk. Options are a derivative investment. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities.
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent the Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.
ETF Structure Risks: The Fund is structured as an ETF and will invest in underlying ETFs. As a result, the Fund is subject to the special risks, including:
| · | Not Individually Redeemable. The Fund’s shares (“Shares”) are not redeemable by retail investors and may be redeemed only by Authorized Participants at net asset value (“NAV”) and only in Creation Units. A retail investor generally incurs brokerage costs when selling shares. |
| · | Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Exchange”) may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange which may result in the Shares being delisted. An active trading market for the Shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as Authorized Participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Shares. |
| · | Market Price Variance Risk. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares and will include a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV. |
| o | In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in the Shares and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| ○ | The market price of the Shares may deviate from the Fund’s NAV, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less the Shares than the Fund’s NAV, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for the Shares or in the closing price. |
| ○ | In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the hares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| · | Authorized Participant Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as an Authorized Participant on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to net asset value and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes. |
3
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Inverse Correlation Risk. Investors will lose money when the Index rises — a result that is the opposite from traditional funds.
Leverage Risk. The use of leverage by the Fund, such as borrowing money to purchase securities or the use of options, will cause the Fund to incur additional expenses and magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.
Limited History Risk. The Fund is a new ETF and has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Funds’ portfolios may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment.
Option Risk. As the buyer of a put or call option, the Fund risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if the Fund does not exercise the option.
Over-the-Counter Market Risk. Securities and options traded in over-the-counter markets may trade less frequently and in limited volumes and thus exhibit more volatility and liquidity risk, and the prices paid by the Fund in over-the-counter transactions may include an undisclosed dealer markup. The Fund is also exposed to default by the over-the-counter option writer who may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations to the Fund.
Volatility Risk. Significant short-term price movements could adversely impact the performance of the Fund. Market conditions in which significant price movements develop, but then repeatedly reverse, could cause substantial losses due to prices moving against the Fund’s long or short positions (which are based on prior trends). The performance of the Fund is based in part on the prices of one or more of the VIX Futures in which the Fund invests. Each of the equity securities held by the Fund and the VIX Futures are affected by a variety of factors and may change unpredictably, affecting the value of such equity securities and VIX Futures and, consequently, the value and the market price of the Fund’s Shares.
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary.
Performance:
Investment Adviser: Simplify Asset Management Inc.
Portfolio Managers: Paul Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the adviser, and David Berns, Chief Investment Officer of the adviser, Shailesh Gupta, Managing Director of the adviser, Michael Green, Managing Director and Chief Strategist of the adviser, have each served the Fund as a portfolio manager since it commenced operations in May, 2021. Mr. Kim, Dr. Berns, Mr. Green and Mr. Gupta are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in large blocks of NYSE Arca, Inc. Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed primarily in-kind for securities but may include cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Except when aggregated in Creation Units in transactions with Authorized Participants, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
4
Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.
Tax Information: The Fund’s distributions generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other
Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank),
the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may
create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund
over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
5
Investment Objective: The Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses(1) | |
| Interest Expense | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(2) | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| (1) |
| (2) |
Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | |
| $ |
$ |
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategies: The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in Commodity-Related Assets (as defined below)- that are expected to perform well during periods of high inflation, and applying a convexity option overlay strategy to the Fund’s commodity investments, as discussed below.
Commodity Strategy
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment strategy by investing in: (i) exchange-traded futures contracts on commodities and commodity indices (“Commodities Futures”); (ii) exchange-traded and over-the-counter options on Commodities Futures; (iii) exchange-traded products related to or providing exposure to commodities (i.e., commodity-linked equity securities, investment companies, other ETFs, exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) and commodity pools) (collectively, the “Commodity-Related Assets”); and (iv) cash, cash-like instruments, including U.S. Treasuries and Treasury inflation-protected securities (“TIPS”) or high-quality securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; money market funds; exchange traded funds; and/or corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. Such Collateral is designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin or otherwise collateralize investments in the Commodities Futures. While the Fund may invest directly in Commodity-Related Assets and Collateral, it may not invest directly in physical commodities.
6
Convexity Option Overlay Strategy
Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s convexity option overlay. The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over the counter (“OTC”) put and call options on commodity futures or exchange traded products. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
The option overlay is a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and to add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
Convexity in the Fund’s strategy is a reference to the mathematical term convexity. The Fund’s returns are intended to possess convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up and down in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market in positive markets; while declining less than the market in negative markets. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value. Unless otherwise stated, the term “convexity” in the Fund’s strategy refers to the intended non-linear nature between the Fund’s and the market returns; it does not refer to the concept of “bond convexity,” which is a measure of the non-linear relationship between bond duration and changes in interest rates.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the commodities market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary, which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the subsidiary will comply with the same Investment Company Act of 1940 asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Principal Investment Risks:
The following describes the risks the Fund bears with respect to its investments. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the investment management strategy may not produce the intended results and may negatively impact Fund performance. The adviser’s overlay strategy will not fully protect the Fund from declines in the market.
Commodity Risk. Investing in the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. Commodity prices may be influenced by unfavorable weather, animal and plant disease, geologic and environmental factors as well as changes in government regulation such as tariffs, embargoes or burdensome production rules and restrictions.
7
Derivatives Risk. Options are a derivative investment. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities.
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent the Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.
ETF Structure Risks: The Fund is structured as an ETF and will invest in underlying ETFs. As a result, the Fund is subject to the special risks, including:
| · | Not Individually Redeemable. The Fund’s shares (“Shares”) are not redeemable by retail investors and may be redeemed only by Authorized Participants at NAV and only in Creation Units. A retail investor generally incurs brokerage costs when selling shares. |
| · | Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange which may result in the Shares being delisted. An active trading market for the Shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as Authorized Participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Shares. |
| · | Market Price Variance Risk. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares and will include a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV. |
| o | In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in the Shares and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| ○ | The market price of the Shares may deviate from the Fund’s NAV, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less the Shares than the Fund’s NAV, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for the Shares or in the closing price. |
| ○ | In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| · | Authorized Participant Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as an Authorized Participant on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to net asset value and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes. |
Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) Risk. The value of an ETN may be influenced by, among other things, time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in underlying markets, changes in the applicable interest rates, the performance of the reference instrument, changes in the issuer’s credit rating and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the reference instrument. Because the return on the ETN is dependent on the issuer’s ability or willingness to meet its obligations, the value of the ETN may change due to factors impacting the issuer (such as changes in the issuer’s credit rating) even if there are not changes in the underlying reference instrument. The market value of ETN shares may differ from the value of the reference instrument. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the assets underlying the reference instrument that the ETN seeks to track. There may be restrictions on the Fund’s right to redeem its investment in an ETN, which are generally meant to be held until maturity. The Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market. An investor in an ETN could lose some or all of the amount invested.
8
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Futures Contract Risk. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and are subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) investments in futures contracts involves leverage, which means a small percentage of assets in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on the Fund and the Fund can lose more than the principal amount invested; (d) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (e) the adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (f) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (g) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
Inflation/Deflation Risk. Although the Fund is intended to provide a measure of protection against inflation, it is possible that it will not do so to the extent intended. The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected to a greater extent than other investments during deflationary periods.
Leverage Risk. The use of leverage by the Fund, such as borrowing money to purchase securities or the use of options, will cause the Fund to incur additional expenses and magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.
Limited History Risk. The Fund is a new ETF and has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Funds’ portfolios may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment.
Option Risk. As the buyer of a put or call option, the Fund risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if the Fund does not exercise the option.
Over-the-Counter Market Risk. Securities and options traded in over-the-counter markets may trade less frequently and in limited volumes and thus exhibit more volatility and liquidity risk, and the prices paid by the Fund in over-the-counter transactions may include an undisclosed dealer markup. The Fund is also exposed to default by the over-the-counter option writer who may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations to the Fund.
9
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary.
Performance:
Investment Adviser: Simplify Asset Management Inc.
Portfolio Managers: Paul Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the adviser, and David Berns, Chief Investment Officer of the adviser have each served the Fund as a portfolio manager since it commenced operations in May 2021. Mr. Kim and Mr. Berns are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in large blocks of 25,000 Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed primarily in-kind for securities but may include cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Except when aggregated in Creation Units in transactions with Authorized Participants, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.
Tax Information: The Fund’s distributions generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
10
Investment Objective: The Simplify Gold Strategy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide returns that reflect the performance of the price of Gold bullion.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Interest Expense | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1) | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| (1) |
| (2) |
Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | |
| $ |
$ |
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategies: The adviser seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing primarily in gold related exchange traded funds, gold related exchange traded notes, and gold related derivatives.
Gold Strategy
The Fund will invest in Gold exchange-traded futures contracts, exchange traded funds, exchange traded notes, over-the-counter or exchange-traded derivatives contracts, and cash and cash-like instruments, including U.S. Treasuries and Treasury inflation-protected securities (“TIPS”) or high-quality securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; money market funds; exchange traded funds; and/or corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. Such Collateral is designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin or otherwise collateralize investments in exchange-traded futures contracts.
Gold bullion-related ETFs are those that invest primarily in physical Gold bullion and/or over-the-counter or exchange-traded derivatives on Gold bullion such as forward contracts, futures contracts, and options contracts or swap contracts. Gold bullion-related ETNs are those with interest and/or principal payments linked to the price of Gold bullion. Derivatives are primarily used as substitutes for Gold bullion because they are expected to produce returns that are substantially similar to those of Gold bullion. Derivatives used by the Fund are expected to produce a significant portion of the Fund’s returns. The Fund does not invest more than 25% of Fund assets in over-the-counter derivative contracts with any one counterparty. Underlying ETFs and ETNs may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the underlying Gold index or Gold price upon which they are based.
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The Fund expects to gain exposure to the gold market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”), which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same Investment Company Act of 1940 asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Convexity Option Overlay Strategy
Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s convexity option overlay. The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over the counter (“OTC”) put and call options on gold futures or ETFs. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
The option overlay is a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and to add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
Convexity in the Fund’s strategy is a reference to the mathematical term convexity. The Fund’s returns are anticipated to show convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value. Unless otherwise stated, the term “convexity” in the Fund’s strategy refers to the intended non-linear nature between the Fund’s and the market returns; it does not refer to the concept of “bond convexity,” which is a measure of the non-linear relationship between bond duration and changes in interest rates.
Principal Investment Risks:
The following describes the risks the Fund bears with respect to its investments. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.
Gold Risk. The price of Gold may be volatile and Gold bullion-related ETFs, ETNs and derivatives may be highly sensitive to the price of Gold. The price of Gold bullion can be significantly affected by international monetary and political developments such as currency devaluation or revaluation, central bank movements, economic and social conditions within a country, transactional or trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the investment management strategy may not produce the intended results and may negatively impact Fund performance. The adviser’s overlay strategy will not fully protect the Fund from declines in the market.
Derivatives Risk. Options are a derivative investment. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities.
12
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent the Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.
ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is structured as an ETF and will invest in underlying ETFs. As a result, the Fund is subject to the special risks, including:
| · | Not Individually Redeemable. The Fund’s shares (“Shares”) are not redeemable by retail investors and may be redeemed only by Authorized Participants at net asset value (“NAV”) and only in Creation Units. A retail investor generally incurs brokerage costs when selling shares. |
| · | Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Exchange”) may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange which may result in the Shares being delisted. An active trading market for the Shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as Authorized Participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Shares. |
| · | Market Price Variance Risk. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares and will include a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV. |
| o | In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in the Shares and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| ○ | The market price of the Shares may deviate from the Fund’s NAV, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less the Shares than the Fund’s NAV, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for the Shares or in the closing price. |
| ○ | In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| · | Authorized Participant Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as an Authorized Participant on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to net asset value and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes. |
Futures Contract Risk. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and are subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) investments in futures contracts involves leverage, which means a small percentage of assets in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on the Fund and the Fund can lose more than the principal amount invested; (d) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (e) the adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (f) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (g) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
Leverage Risk. The use of leverage by the Fund, such as borrowing money to purchase securities or the use of options, will cause the Fund to incur additional expenses and magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.
13
Limited History Risk. The Fund is a new ETF and has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Funds’ portfolios may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment.
Option Risk. As the buyer of a put or call option, the Fund risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if the Fund does not exercise the option.
Over-the-Counter Market Risk. Securities and options traded in over-the-counter markets may trade less frequently and in limited volumes and thus exhibit more volatility and liquidity risk, and the prices paid by the Fund in over-the-counter transactions may include an undisclosed dealer markup. The Fund is also exposed to default by the over-the-counter option writer who may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations to the Fund.
TIPS Risk. TIPS are debt instruments issued by the by the United States Department of the Treasury. The principal of TIPS increases with inflation and decreases with deflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. When TIPS mature, investors are paid the adjusted principal or original principal, whichever is greater. Interest payments on TIPS are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and corresponding interest payments are adjusted for inflation. Inflation-indexed bonds generally pay a lower nominal interest rate than a comparable non-inflation-indexed bond. There can be no assurance that the CPI will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Any increases in the principal amount of TIPS will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though the Fund or applicable underlying ETF will not receive the principal until maturity. As a result, the Fund may make income distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it receives. In addition, TIPS are subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and maturity risk
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary.
Performance:
Investment Adviser: Simplify Asset Management Inc.
Portfolio Managers: Paul Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the adviser, and David Berns, Chief Investment Officer of the adviser have each served the Fund as a portfolio manager since it commenced operations in May 2021. Mr. Kim and Mr. Berns are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in large blocks of 25,000 Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed primarily in-kind for securities but may include cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Except when aggregated in Creation Units in transactions with Authorized Participants, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.
Tax Information: The Fund’s distributions generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
14
Investment Objective: The Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to hedge interest rate movements arising from rising long-term interest rates, and to benefit from market stress when fixed income volatility increases, while providing the potential for income.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker. These costs are not included in the expense example below.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses(1) | |
| Interest Expense | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(2) | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| (1) |
| (2) |
Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | |
| $51 | $160 |
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategies: The adviser seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in U.S. Treasuries or U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”), exchange traded funds that primarily invest in U.S. Treasuries, TIPS and investment grade bonds, and swaptions and interest rate options.
The Fund invests in Treasuries or TIPS directly or through other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). TIPS are U.S. government bonds (specifically, Treasury securities) whose principal amount increases with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index and are designed to protect investors from inflation risk. The Fund may purchase Treasuries or TIPS of any maturity. The Fund’s strategy may be appropriate for investors who are looking to have investment exposure to a portfolio that seeks to provide a hedge against interest rates.
Principal Investment Risks:
The following describes the risks the Fund bears with respect to its investments. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.
Swaptions Risk. A swaption is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement, at some designated future time on specified terms. The Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call swaptions. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, the Fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swaption than it will incur when it purchases a swaption. When the Fund purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when the Fund writes a swaption, it becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) according to the terms of the underlying agreement.
15
TIPS Risk. TIPS are debt instruments issued by the by the United States Department of the Treasury. The principal of TIPS increases with inflation and decreases with deflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. When TIPS mature, investors are paid the adjusted principal or original principal, whichever is greater. Interest payments on TIPS are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and corresponding interest payments are adjusted for inflation. Inflation-indexed bonds generally pay a lower nominal interest rate than a comparable non-inflation-indexed bond. There can be no assurance that the CPI will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Any increases in the principal amount of TIPS will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though the Fund or applicable underlying ETF will not receive the principal until maturity. As a result, the Fund may make income distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it receives. In addition, TIPS are subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and maturity risk.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the investment management strategy may not produce the intended results and may negatively impact Fund performance.
Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial instrument held by the Fund or by a special purpose or structured vehicle invested in by the Fund may become insolvent or otherwise fail to perform its obligations, and the Fund may obtain no or limited recovery of its investment, and any recovery may be significantly delayed.
Derivatives Risk. Options are a derivative investment. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities.
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent the Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.
ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is structured as an ETF and will invest in underlying ETFs. As a result, the Fund is subject to the special risks, including:
| · | Not Individually Redeemable. The Fund’s shares (“Shares”) are not redeemable by retail investors and may be redeemed only by Authorized Participants at net asset value (“NAV”) and only in Creation Units. A retail investor generally incurs brokerage costs when selling shares. |
| · | Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Exchange”) may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange which may result in the Shares being delisted. An active trading market for the Shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as Authorized Participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Shares. |
| · | Market Price Variance Risk. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares and will include a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV. |
| o | In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in the Shares and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| ○ | The market price of the Shares may deviate from the Fund’s NAV, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less the Shares than the Fund’s NAV, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for the Shares or in the closing price. |
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| ○ | In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| · | Authorized Participant Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as an Authorized Participant on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to net asset value and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes. |
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Leverage Risk. The use of leverage by the Fund, such as borrowing money to purchase securities or the use of options, will cause the Fund to incur additional expenses and magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.
Limited History Risk. The Fund is a new ETF and has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Funds’ portfolios may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment.
Non-Diversified Fund Risk. Because the Fund is non-diversified and may invest a greater portion of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified fund, changes in the market value of a single portfolio holding could cause greater fluctuations in the Fund’s share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a single portfolio holding or a relatively small number of portfolio holdings to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Option Risk. As the buyer of a call option, the Fund risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if the Fund does not exercise the option.
Over-the-Counter Market Risk. Securities and options traded in over-the-counter markets may trade less frequently and in limited volumes and thus exhibit more volatility and liquidity risk, and the prices paid by the Fund in over-the-counter transactions may include an undisclosed dealer markup. The Fund is also exposed to default by the over-the-counter option writer who may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations to the Fund.
Performance:
Investment Adviser: Simplify Asset Management Inc.
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Portfolio Managers: Harley Bassman, Managing Partner & Convexity Maven, Paul Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the adviser, and David Berns, Chief Investment Officer of the adviser have each served the Fund as a portfolio manager since it commenced operations in May 2021. Mr. Bassman, Mr. Kim and Mr. Berns are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in large blocks of 25,000 Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed primarily in-kind for securities but may include cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Except when aggregated in Creation Units in transactions with Authorized Participants, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.
Tax Information: The Fund’s distributions generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
Investment Objective:
| Fund | Investment Objective |
| Simplify Volatility Premium ETF (“Volatility ETF”) | The Fund seeks to provide investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond approximately to one-quarter to one-half the inverse (-0.2x to -0.3x) of the performance of the S&P 500 VIX short-term futures index while seeking to mitigate extreme volatility. |
| Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF (“Commodity ETF”) | The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation. |
| Simplify Gold Strategy ETF (“Gold ETF”) | The Fund seeks to provide returns that reflect the performance of the price of Gold bullion. |
| Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (“Hedge ETF”) | The Fund seeks to hedge interest rate movements arising from rising long-term interest rates, and to benefit from market stress when fixed income volatility increases, while providing the potential for income. |
Each Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Simplify Exchange Traded Funds’ board of trustees (the “Board”) upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.
Principal Investment Strategies:
Volatility ETF
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond approximately to one-quarter to one-half the inverse (-0.2x to -0.3x) of the performance of the SP 500 short term futures index (the “Index”) for a single day, not for any other period. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund primarily purchases or sells futures contracts, call options, and put options on VIX futures. The Fund will hold cash, cash-like instruments or high-quality short term fixed income securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) fixed income ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by companies that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. The Fund also applies an option overlay strategy in seeking to mitigate against extreme volatility.
The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from the Fund’s stated multiple times the return of the Index for the same period. These differences can be significant. Daily compounding of the investment return of the Fund can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and the volatility of the Index may be at least as important to the returns of the Fund as the return of the Index. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The NAV calculation time for the Funds typically is 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).
The Index is a non-investable index that measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500. For these purposes, “implied volatility” is a measure of the expected volatility (i.e., the rate and magnitude of variations in performance) of the S&P 500 over the next 30 days. The Index does not represent the actual volatility of the S&P 500. The Index is calculated based on the prices of a constantly changing portfolio of S&P 500 put and call options.
The Fund may engage in daily rebalancing to position its portfolio so that its exposure to the Index is consistent with its daily investment objective (-0.2x to -0.3x). The impact of changes to the value of the Index each day will affect whether the Fund’s portfolio needs to be rebalanced. For example, if the level of the Index has risen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should fall (assuming there were no Creation Units issued). As a result, inverse exposure may need to be decreased. Conversely, if the level of the Index has fallen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should rise (assuming there were no Creation Unit redemptions). As a result, inverse exposure may need to be increased. The time and manner in which the Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and other circumstances at the discretion of Simplify Asset Management Inc. (the “Adviser”).
Option Overlay Strategy
The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over the counter (“OTC”) put and call options on the Index or Index ETPs. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
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Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s convexity option overlay. The option overlay is intended to add convexity to the Fund and is intended as a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the Adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the Adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The Adviser generally selects options with strike prices at least 5% out of the money at purchase. A call option is out of the money if the strike price is higher at the time of purchase than the market price of the underlying asset. A put option is out of the money if the strike price is lower than the market price of the underlying asset. The Adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. The Adviser actively trades options using a systematic proprietary approach that rebalances at least monthly. The Adviser manages the use of options so that the annualized cost of the option overlay does not normally exceed 5% of the net assets of the Fund. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will improve performance.
Convexity in the Fund’s strategy is a reference to the mathematical term convexity. The Fund’s returns are anticipated to show convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up and down in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market in positive markets; while declining less than the market in negative markets. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the Adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value. Unless otherwise stated, the term “convexity” in the Fund’s strategy refers to the intended non-linear nature between the Fund’s and the market returns; it does not refer to the concept of “bond convexity,” which is a measure of the non-linear relationship between bond duration and changes in interest rates.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the commodities market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary, which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Commodity ETF
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in commodities that are expected to perform well during periods of high inflation, and by applying a convexity option overlay strategy to the Fund’s equity and commodity investments.
Commodity Strategy
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment strategy by investing in: (i) exchange-traded futures contracts on commodities and commodity indices (“Commodities Futures”); (ii) exchange-traded and over-the-counter options on Commodities Futures; (iii) exchange-traded products related to or providing exposure to commodities (i.e., commodity-linked equity securities, investment companies, other ETFs, exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) and commodity pools) (collectively, the “Commodity-Related Assets”); and (iv) cash, cash-like instruments, including U.S. Treasuries and Treasury inflation-protected securities (“TIPS”) or high-quality securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; money market funds; exchange traded funds; and/or corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. Such Collateral is designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin or otherwise collateralize investments in the Commodities Futures. While the Fund may invest directly in Commodity-Related Assets and Collateral, it may not invest directly in physical commodities.
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Convexity Option Overlay Strategy
Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s convexity option overlay. The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over OTC put and call options on commodity futures or the equity securities of companies that own or derive a significant portion of their value from real estate, commodities, natural resources, infrastructure and gold and other precious metals. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
The option overlay is a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and to add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the Adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The Adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
Convexity in the Fund’s strategy is a reference to the mathematical term convexity. The Fund’s returns are intended to possess convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up and down in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market in positive markets; while declining less than the market in negative markets. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the Adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value. Unless otherwise stated, the term “convexity” in the Fund’s strategy refers to the intended non-linear nature between the Fund’s and the market returns; it does not refer to the concept of “bond convexity,” which is a measure of the non-linear relationship between bond duration and changes in interest rates.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the commodities market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary, which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same 1940 Act asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Gold Strategy ETF
The Adviser seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing primarily in gold related exchange traded funds, exchange traded notes, and gold related derivatives.
Gold Strategy
The Fund will invest in Gold exchange-traded futures contracts, exchange traded funds, exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”), over-the-counter derivative contracts, and cash and cash-like instruments, including U.S. Treasuries and Treasury inflation-protected securities (“TIPS”) or high-quality securities (collectively, “Collateral”). The Collateral may consist of U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; money market funds; exchange traded funds; and/or corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality. Such Collateral is designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin or otherwise collateralize investments in exchange-traded futures contracts.
Gold bullion-related ETFs are those that invest primarily in physical Gold bullion and/or over-the-counter or exchange-traded derivatives on Gold bullion such as forward contracts, futures contracts, and options contracts or swap contracts. Gold bullion-related ETNs are those with interest and/or principal payments linked to the price of Gold bullion. Derivatives are primarily used as substitutes for Gold bullion because they are expected to produce returns that are substantially similar to those of Gold bullion. Derivatives used by the Fund are expected to produce a significant portion of the Fund’s returns. The Fund does not invest more than 25% of Fund assets in over-the-counter derivative contracts with any one counterparty. Underlying ETFs and ETNs may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the underlying Gold index or Gold price upon which they are based.
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Convexity Option Overlay Strategy
Up to twenty percent of the Fund’s net assets will be subject to the Fund’s convexity option overlay. The option overlay consists of purchasing exchange-traded and over OTC put and call options on gold futures and ETFs. When the Fund purchases a call option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period. When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock or other asset at a specified price (strike price) within a specific time period.
The option overlay is a strategic, persistent exposure meant to hedge against market moves and to add convexity to the Fund. If the market goes up, the Fund’s returns may outperform the market because the Adviser will sell or exercise the call options. If the market goes down, the Fund’s returns may fall less than the market because the Adviser will sell or exercise the put options. The Adviser selects options based upon its evaluation of relative value based on cost, strike price (price that the option can be bought or sold by the option holder) and maturity (the last date the option contract is valid) and will exercise or close the options based on maturity or portfolio rebalancing requirements. The Fund anticipates purchasing and selling options on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, depending upon the Fund’s rebalancing requirements and the individual option expiration dates. However, the Fund may rebalance its option portfolio on a more frequent basis for a number of reasons such as market volatility renders the protection provided by the option strategy ineffective or an option position has appreciated to the point that it is prudent to decrease the Fund’s exposure and realize gains for the Fund’s shareholders. While the option overlay is intended to improve the Fund’s performance, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
Convexity in the Fund’s strategy is a reference to the mathematical term convexity. The Fund’s returns are intended to possess convexity because the relationship between the Fund’s returns and market returns is not designed to be linear. That is, if market returns go up and down in a linear fashion, the Fund’s returns are expected to rise faster than the market in positive markets; while declining less than the market in negative markets. The value of the Fund’s call options is expected to rise in proportion to the rise in value of the underlying assets, but the amount by which the Fund’s options increase or decrease in value depends on how far the market has moved from the time the options position was initiated. The value of the Fund’s call options may rise faster than the market if the Adviser successfully selects options that appreciate in value. Unless otherwise stated, the term “convexity” in the Fund’s strategy refers to the intended non-linear nature between the Fund’s and the market returns; it does not refer to the concept of “bond convexity,” which is a measure of the non-linear relationship between bond duration and changes in interest rates.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the gold market indirectly by investing up to 25% of its total assets (measured at the time of investment) in a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary, which is designed to enhance the ability of the Fund to obtain exposure to the commodities market consistent with the limits of the U.S. federal tax law requirements applicable to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation indirectly in commodity-linked derivatives investments, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same 1940 Act asset coverage requirements, when viewed on a consolidated basis with the Fund, with respect to its investments in derivatives.
Hedge ETF
The Adviser seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in U.S. Treasuries or TIPS, exchange traded funds that primarily invest in TIPS and investment grade bonds, and swaptions and interest rate options.
The Fund invests in U.S. Treasuries and TIPS directly or through other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). TIPS are U.S. government bonds (specifically, Treasury securities) whose principal amount increases with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index and are designed to protect investors from inflation risk. The Fund may purchase U.S. Treasuries or TIPS of any maturity.
The Fund’s strategy may be appropriate for investors who are looking to have investment exposure to a portfolio that seeks to provide a hedge against interest rates.
Temporary Defensive Positions
From time to time, each Fund may take temporary defensive positions, which are inconsistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategies, in attempting to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions. For example, the Funds may hold all or a portion of their respective assets in money market instruments, including cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, other investment grade fixed income securities, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, commercial paper, money market funds and repurchase agreements. While a Fund is in a defensive position, the opportunity to achieve its investment objective will be limited. If a Fund invests in a money market fund, the shareholders of the Fund generally will be subject to duplicative management fees. Although a Fund would do this only in seeking to avoid losses, the Fund will be unable to pursue its investment objective during that time, and it could reduce the benefit from any upswing in the market.
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Manager-of-Managers Order
The Trust and the Adviser have filed an exemptive application with the SEC that if granted, would permit the Adviser, with the Board’s approval, to enter into sub-advisory agreements with one or more sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The exemptive order would permit the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board, to replace sub-advisers or amend sub-advisory agreements, including fees, without shareholder approval if the Adviser and the Board believe such action will benefit the Fund and its shareholders.
Principal Investment Risks:
The following describes the risks born by each Fund with respect to its investments.
Active Management Risk. Each Fund is subject to the risk that its investment management strategy may not produce the intended results. There can be no assurance that the securities selected by the Adviser will produce positive returns.
Cash or Cash Equivalents Risk (Gold Convexity ETF and Volatility ETF Only). At any time, the Fund may have significant investments in cash or cash equivalents. When a substantial portion of a portfolio is held in cash or cash equivalents, there is the risk that the value of the cash account, including interest, will not keep pace with inflation, thus reducing purchasing power over time. Additionally, in rising markets, holding cash or cash equivalents may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Commodity Risk (Commodity ETF Only). The Fund’s exposure to the commodities futures markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments, commodity-based notes may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.
Compounding Risk (Volatility ETF Only). The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from the Fund’s stated multiple times the return of the Index for the same period. These differences can be significant. Daily compounding of the investment return of the Fund can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and the volatility of the Index may be at least as important to the returns of the Fund as the return of the Index.
Counterparty Risk (Hedge ETF Only). The Fund may engage in transactions in securities and financial instruments that involve counterparties. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. To limit the counterparty risk associated with such transactions, the Fund conducts business only with financial institutions judged by the Adviser to present acceptable credit risk.
Daily Rebalancing Risk (Volatility ETF Only). The daily rebalancing of the futures contracts underlying the Index may impact trading in such futures contracts. For example, such trading may cause Futures Commission Merchants to adjust their hedges. The trading activity associated with such transactions will contribute to the existing trading volume of the underlying futures contracts and may adversely affect the market price of such underlying futures contracts and in turn the level of the Index.
Derivatives Risk. A Fund’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities including:
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent a Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, a Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.
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Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) Risk (Commodity ETF and Gold ETF). The value of an ETN may be influenced by, among other things, time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in underlying markets, changes in the applicable interest rates, the performance of the reference instrument, changes in the issuer’s credit rating and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the reference instrument. Because the return on the ETN is dependent on the issuer’s ability or willingness to meet its obligations, the value of the ETN may change due to factors impacting the issuer (such as changes in the issuer’s credit rating) even if there are not changes in the underlying reference instrument. The market value of ETN shares may differ from the value of the reference instrument. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the assets underlying the reference instrument that the ETN seeks to track. There may be restrictions on the Fund’s right to redeem its investment in an ETN, which are generally meant to be held until maturity. The Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market. An investor in an ETN could lose some or all of the amount invested.
ETF Structure Risk: Each Fund is structured as an ETF and will invest in underlying ETFs. As a result, each Fund is subject to the special risks, including:
| · | Not Individually Redeemable. A Fund’s Shares (“Shares”) are not redeemable by retail investors and may be redeemed only by the Authorized Participant at net asset value (“NAV”) and only in Creation Units. A retail investor generally incurs brokerage costs when selling shares. |
| · | Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange, which may result in a Fund’s shares being delisted. An active trading market for the Shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as Authorized Participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Shares. |
| · | Market Price Variance Risk. Individual Shares of a Fund that are listed for trading on the Exchange can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly and you may pay more than NAV when buying Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares. The market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. A Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of a Fund over a period of time. Investors purchasing and selling Shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those Authorized Participants creating and redeeming directly with a Fund. |
| o | In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in shares of ETFs and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of Shares and the Fund’s NAV. |
| o | The market price for the Shares may deviate from a Fund’s NAV, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less for Shares than a Fund’s NAV, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for Fund shares or in the closing price. |
| o | In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Shares and a Fund’s NAV. |
| · | Authorized Participant Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. A Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as an Authorized Participant on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to a Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, a Fund’s shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes. |
Gold Risk (Gold ETF Only). The price of Gold may be volatile and Gold bullion-related ETFs, ETNs and derivatives may be highly sensitive to the price of Gold. The price of Gold bullion can be significantly affected by international monetary and political developments such as currency devaluation or revaluation, central bank movements, economic and social conditions within a country, transactional or trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries.
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Fixed Income Securities Risk. Fixed income risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early or later than expected, potentially reducing the amount of interest payments or extending time to principal repayment). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments. When a Fund invests in fixed income securities the value of your investment in a Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. If the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) raises the federal funds interest rate target, interest rates across the U.S. financial system may rise. However, the magnitude of rate changes across maturities and borrower sectors is uncertain. Rising rates may decrease liquidity and increase volatility, which may make portfolio management more difficult and costly to a Fund and its shareholders. Additionally, default risk increases if issuers must borrow at higher rates. Generally, these changing market conditions may cause a Fund’s share price to fluctuate or decline more than other types of equity investments.
Futures Contract Risk (Commodity ETF and Gold ETF Only). The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and are subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by a Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) investments in futures contracts involves leverage, which means a small percentage of assets in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on a Fund and a Fund can lose more than the principal amount invested; (d) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (e) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (f) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (g) if a Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and a Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
Inflation/Deflation Risk (Commodity ETF Only). Although the Fund is intended to provide a measure of protection against inflation, it is possible that it will not do so to the extent intended. The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected to a greater extent than other investments during deflationary periods.
Inverse Correlation Risk (Volatility ETF Only). A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with the Index, and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of inverse correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from the inverse of the percentage change of the Index on such day.
In order to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with the Index, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to the Index may prevent the Fund from achieving a high degree of inverse correlation with the Index and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by the Index’s movements, including intraday movements. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will have perfect inverse exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when the Index is volatile, particularly when the Index is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.
Leverage Risk. Using derivatives can create leverage, which can amplify the effects of market volatility on each Fund’s share price and make a Fund’s returns more volatile. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. The use of leverage may also cause a Fund to have higher expenses than those of other funds that do not use such techniques.
Limited History of Operations. The Funds are new ETFs and have limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Investors in a Fund bear the risk that a Fund may not be successful in implementing its investment strategies, may be unable to implement certain of its investment strategies or may fail to attract sufficient assets, any of which could result in a Fund being liquidated and terminated at any time without shareholder approval and at a time that may not be favorable for all shareholders. Such a liquidation could have negative tax consequences for shareholders and will cause shareholders to incur expenses of liquidation. The Adviser may not achieve its intended result in managing a Fund.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in a Fund’s portfolios may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your investment.
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Non-Diversified Fund Risk (Hedge ETF Only). Because the Fund is non-diversified and may invest a greater portion of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified fund, changes in the market value of a single portfolio holding could cause greater fluctuations in the Fund’s share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a single portfolio holding or a relatively small number of portfolio holdings to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Options Risk. The Funds’ may purchase call and put options on securities in which it invests and on ETFs in which a Fund invests. A Fund may engage in these transactions to hedge against a decline in the value of securities owned or an increase in the price of securities which a Fund plans to purchase.
| o | Call Options (Gold ETF, Volatility & Commodity ETF). When a Fund purchases a call option, it receives, in return for the premium it pays, the right to buy from the writer of the option the underlying security at a specified price at any time before the option expires. A Fund purchases call options in anticipation of an increase in the market value of securities that it intends ultimately to buy. During the life of the call option, a Fund is able to buy the underlying security at the exercise price regardless of any increase in the market price of the underlying security. In order for a call option to result in a gain, the market price of the underlying security must exceed the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid, and transaction costs. |
| o | Put Options (Gold ETF, Volatility & Commodity ETF). When a Fund purchases a put option, it receives, in return for the premium it pays, the right to sell to the writer of the option the underlying security at a specified price at any time before the option expires. A Fund purchases put options in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the underlying security. During the life of the put option, a Fund is able to sell the underlying security at the exercise price regardless of any decline in the market price of the underlying security. In order for a put option to result in a gain, the market price of the underlying security must decline, during the option period, below the exercise price enough to cover the premium and transaction costs. |
Over-the-Counter Market Risk. Securities and options traded in over-the-counter markets may trade less frequently and in limited volumes and thus exhibit more volatility and liquidity risk, and the prices paid by a Fund in over-the-counter transactions may include an undisclosed dealer markup. A Fund is also exposed to default by the over-the-counter option writer who may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations to a Fund.
Short-term investment Risk (Volatility ETF Only). Investors holding shares of the Fund over longer-term periods may be subject to increased risk of loss. The Fund is intended to be used only for short-term investment horizons. An investor in the Fund can lose all or a substantial portion of his or her investment within a single day. The longer an investor’s holding period in the Fund, the greater the potential for loss.
Swaptions Risk (Hedge ETF Only). A swaption is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement, at some designated future time on specified terms. The Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call swaptions. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, the Fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swaption than it will incur when it purchases a swaption. When the Fund purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when the Fund writes a swaption, it becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) according to the terms of the underlying agreement.
TIPS Risk (Hedge ETF, and Gold ETF, and Commodity ETF). TIPS are debt instruments issued by the by the United States Department of the Treasury. The principal of TIPS increases with inflation and decreases with deflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. When TIPS mature, investors are paid the adjusted principal or original principal, whichever is greater. Interest payments on TIPS are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and corresponding interest payments are adjusted for inflation. Inflation-indexed bonds generally pay a lower nominal interest rate than a comparable non-inflation-indexed bond. There can be no assurance that the CPI will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Any increases in the principal amount of TIPS will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though the Fund or applicable underlying ETF will not receive the principal until maturity. As a result, the Fund may make income distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it receives. In addition, TIPS are subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and maturity risk.
VIX Futures Risk (Volatility ETF Only). VIX futures contracts can be highly volatile and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses when buying, selling or holding such instruments; you can lose all or a portion of your investment within a single day. Investments linked to equity market volatility, including VIX futures contracts, can be highly volatile and may experience sudden, large and unexpected losses. VIX futures contracts are unlike traditional futures contracts and are not based on a tradable reference asset. The VIX is not directly investable, and the settlement price of a VIX futures contract is based on the calculation that determines the level of the VIX. As a result, the behavior of a VIX futures contract may be different from a traditional futures contract whose settlement price is based on a specific tradable asset and may differ from an investor’s expectations. The market for VIX futures contracts may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events and policies, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics), changes in interest rates or inflation rates. High volatility may have an adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. An investor in any of the Fund could potentially lose the full principal of his or her investment within a single day.
Volatility Risk (Volatility ETF Only). Significant short-term price movements could adversely impact the performance of the Fund. Market conditions in which significant price movements develop, but then repeatedly reverse, could cause substantial losses due to prices moving against the Fund’s long or short positions (which are based on prior trends). The performance of the Fund is based in part on the prices of one or more of the VIX Futures in which the Fund invests. Each of the equity securities held by the Fund and the VIX Futures are affected by a variety of factors and may change unpredictably, affecting the value of such equity securities and VIX Futures and, consequently, the value and the market price of the Fund’s Shares.
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Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Risk (Commodity ETF, Volatility ETF, and Gold ETF). Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE: A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is available in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Subsidiary:
The Gold ETF, the Volatility ETF, and Commodity ETF each execute a portion of its strategy by investing up to 25% of its total assets in a wholly-owned and controlled Subsidiary. Each Subsidiary invests the majority of its assets in commodities and other futures contracts subject to the same investment restrictions as the Fund, when viewed on a consolidated basis. The principal investment strategies and principal investment risks of a Subsidiary are also principal investment strategies and principal risks of the Fund and are reflected in this Prospectus. The financial statements of a Subsidiary are consolidated with those of the Fund. By investing in commodities indirectly through a Subsidiary, each Fund obtains exposure to the commodities markets within the federal tax requirements that apply to a Fund. Specifically, a Subsidiary provides a Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Sub-chapter M requires, among other things, that at least 90% of the Fund’s income be derived from securities or derived with respect to its business of investing in securities (typically referred to as “qualifying income”). Each Fund will make investments in certain commodity-linked derivatives through the Subsidiary because income from these derivatives is not treated as “qualifying income” for purposes of the 90% income requirement if a Fund invests in the derivative directly. The Internal Revenue Service has issued a number of private letter rulings to other mutual funds (unrelated to a Fund), which indicate that certain income from a fund’s investment in a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary will constitute “qualifying income” for purposes of Subchapter M. Each Fund does not have a private letter ruling. To satisfy the 90% income requirement, a Subsidiary will, no less than annually, declare and distribute a dividend to a Fund, as the sole shareholder of a Subsidiary, in an amount approximately equal to the total amount of “Subpart F” income (as defined in Section 951 of the Code) generated by or expected to be generated by the Subsidiary’s investments during the fiscal year. Such dividend distributions are “qualifying income” pursuant to Subchapter M (Section 851(b)) of the Code.
Because a Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets in a Subsidiary, which may hold some of the investments described in this Prospectus, a Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in some of those investments through its Subsidiary. For that reason, references to the Fund may also include a Subsidiary.
Each Subsidiary follows the same compliance policies and procedures, as its corresponding Fund and is subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations as the Fund when measured on a consolidated basis with a Fund. The Fund complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act governing investment policies, capital structure and leverage on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary. In addition, the Subsidiary complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to affiliated transactions and custody. The Funds’ custodian also serves as the custodian to each Subsidiary.
The Adviser to the Subsidiary also complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act regarding investment advisory contracts and are considered to be investment adviser to a Fund under the 1940 Act.
CYBERSECURITY: The computer systems, networks and devices used by the Funds and their service providers to carry out routine business operations employ a variety of protections designed to prevent damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches. Despite the various protections utilized by the Funds and their service providers, systems, networks, or devices potentially can be breached. Each Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach.
Cybersecurity breaches can include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices; infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. Cybersecurity breaches may cause disruptions and impact each Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with each Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; impediments to trading; the inability of each Fund, the Adviser, and other service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs; as well as the inadvertent release of confidential information.
Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity breaches affecting issuers of securities in which the Funds invest; counterparties with which the Funds engage in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities; exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for a Fund’s shareholders); and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred by these entities in order to prevent any cybersecurity breaches in the future.
MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT ADVISER: Simplify Asset Management Inc., located at 54 W 40th St, New York NY 10018, serves as each Fund’s investment adviser (the “Adviser”). The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and manages only the Funds.
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Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is responsible for managing the Funds’ investments, placing trade orders and providing related administrative services and facilities under an advisory agreement between each Fund and the Adviser. The Funds were recently formed in May 2021.
The Adviser is paid a monthly management fee at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of 0.50%. The management agreement between the Fund and the Adviser provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except for any interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future Rule 12b-1 fees (if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, expenses incidental to a meeting of a Fund’s shareholders.
Portfolio Managers
Paul Kim is the chief executive officer and co-founder of the Adviser. Prior to co-founding the Adviser in 2020, he was a portfolio manager and managing director at Principal Global Investors from 2015 to 2020, where he founded and led Principal’s ETF business segment. Mr. Kim has a Bachelors degree from Dartmouth and a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
David Berns, PhD, is the chief investment officer and co-founder of the Adviser. Prior to co-founding the Adviser in 2020, he founded Portfolio Designer, LLC, a company that specializes in portfolio design and from 2018 to 2019 was a managing director at Nasdaq Dorsey Wright. Prior to joining Nasdaq Dorsey Wright, Inc., he founded and developed a company that specializes in proprietary trading. He has specialized in developing asset allocation, portfolio management, and risk management systems for managing private and institutional wealth. Mr. Berns has a PhD in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of Quantum Computation.
Harley Bassman is a managing partner of the Adviser. In 2017, he founded and served as the chief investment officer for the Bassman Family Office and served as the editor for Convexity Maven, a macro-economic commentary. From 2014 to 2017, he was an executive vice-president at PIMCO, where he was responsible for PIMCO’s liquid alternatives and macro investment strategy.
Mr. Shailesh Gupta is the head of trading for the Adviser. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Gupta served as the head of trading for Commonwealth Opportunity Capital. From 2017 to 2020, he served as a portfolio manager for Anfield Capital Management.
Michael Green is the Managing Director and Chief Strategist of the Adviser. He has served as portfolio manager of the Volatility ETF since April 2021. Prior to joining the Adviser, Michael served as partner, chief strategist and portfolio manager of Logica Capital Advisers, LLC, a Los Angeles-based hedge fund focused on derivative strategies from 2020 to 2021. Prior to Logica, Michael was portfolio manager for Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel from 2016 to 2019. Prior to Thiel, Michael founded Ice Farm Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund seeded by Soros Family Management.
Mr. Kim and Mr. Berns are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Commodity ETF and Gold ETF.
Mr. Kim, Mr. Berns, and Mr. Bassman are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Hedge ETF.
Mr. Kim, Mr. Berns, Mr. Green and Mr. Gupta are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Volatility ETF.
The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed and ownership of Fund shares.
HOW SHARES ARE PRICED
The NAV of each Fund is determined at the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each day the Exchange is open for business. NAV is computed by determining, the aggregate market value of all assets of the applicable Fund, less its liabilities, divided by the total number of shares outstanding ((assets-liabilities)/number of shares = NAV). The Exchange is closed on weekends and New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day (“Exchange Close”). The NAV takes into account, the expenses and fees of each Fund, including management, administration, and distribution fees, which are accrued daily. The determination of NAV for each Fund for a particular day is applicable to all applications for the purchase of shares, as well as all requests for the redemption of Creation Units, received by each Fund (or an authorized broker or agent, or its authorized designee) before the close of trading on the Exchange on that day.
Generally, each Fund’s portfolio securities, including securities issued by ETFs, are valued each day at the last quoted sales price on each security’s primary exchange. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges (whether domestic or foreign) for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on such exchange. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated Quotation System (“NASDAQ”) National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Securities that are not traded on any securities exchange (whether domestic or foreign) and for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available generally shall be valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask price on such over-the-counter market. Debt securities not traded on an exchange may be valued at prices supplied by a pricing agent(s) based on broker or dealer supplied valuations or matrix pricing, a method of valuing securities by reference to the value of other securities with similar characteristics, such as rating, interest rate and maturity.
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If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined using the “fair value” procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. The fair value prices can differ from market prices when they become available or when a price becomes available. The Board has delegated execution of these procedures to a fair value committee composed of one or more representatives from each of the (i) Trust, (ii) administrator, and (iii) Adviser. The committee may also enlist third party consultants such as an audit firm or financial officer of a security issuer on an as-needed basis to assist in determining a security-specific fair value. The Board reviews and ratifies the execution of this process and the resultant fair value prices at least quarterly to assure the process produces reliable results.
The Funds may use independent pricing services to assist in calculating the value of each Fund’s portfolio securities.
In addition, market prices for foreign securities are not determined at the same time of day as the NAV for the Funds.
In computing the NAV, the Funds value foreign securities held by a Fund at the latest closing price on the exchange in which they are traded immediately prior to closing of the Exchange. Prices of foreign securities quoted in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at current rates. If events materially affecting the value of a security in a Fund’s portfolio, particularly foreign securities, occur after the close of trading on a foreign market but before a Fund prices its shares, the security will be valued at fair value. For example, if trading in a portfolio security is halted and does not resume before a Fund calculates its NAV, the Adviser may need to price the security using the Funds’ fair value pricing guidelines. Without a fair value price, short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of a Fund’s portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a Fund’s NAV by short term traders. The determination of fair value involves subjective judgments. As a result, using fair value to price a security may result in a price materially different from the prices used by other mutual funds to determine NAV, or from the price that may be realized upon the actual sale of the security.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
Shares of the Funds are listed for trading on the Exchange under the symbols SVOL, INFC, GLDC, and PFIX. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share. Shares can be bought and sold on the secondary market throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares, and Shares typically trade in blocks of less than a Creation Unit. There is no minimum investment required. Shares may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market when the Exchange is open for trading. The Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays, as observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.
Authorized Participants that have entered into a contract with the Funds’ distributor may acquire Shares from the Funds, and Authorized Participants may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Funds, at NAV per Share only in large blocks, or Creation Units, of 25,000 Shares. Purchases and redemptions directly with the Funds must follow each Fund’s procedures, which are described in the SAI.
The Funds may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.
Share Trading Prices
The approximate value of Shares, an amount representing on a per share basis the sum of the current market price of the securities accepted by the Funds in exchange for Shares and an estimated cash component will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day. The Funds are not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value of the Shares, and the Funds do not make any warranty as to the accuracy of these values.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes.
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Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” form.
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES
Shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Funds in Creation Units by Authorized Participants that have entered into a contract with the Funds’ distributor. The vast majority of trading in Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not directly involve a Fund, it is unlikely those trades would cause the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Funds’ trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with the Funds, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, those trades could result in dilution to the Funds and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, direct trading by Authorized Participants is critical to ensuring that Shares trade at or close to NAV. The Funds also employ fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. In addition, the Funds impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that a Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Trust has determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of the Shares.
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
The Funds have adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Funds are authorized to pay distribution fees to the distributor and other firms that provide distribution and shareholder services (“Service Providers”). If a Service Provider provides these services, the applicable Fund may pay fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of average daily net assets, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.
No distribution or service fees are currently paid by the Funds and will not be paid by the Funds unless authorized by the Board. There are no current plans to impose these fees. In the event Rule 12b-1 fees were charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Funds.
DIVIDENDS, OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Shares are traded throughout the day in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis and are created and redeemed in-kind and/or for cash in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV. In-kind arrangements are designed to protect ongoing shareholders from the adverse effects on a Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash redemption transactions. In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders if the mutual fund needs to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet net fund redemptions. These sales may generate taxable gains for the ongoing shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the Shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax event for the Funds or its ongoing shareholders.
Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly for the Volatility ETF and Hedge ETF and quarterly for the Commodity ETF and Gold ETF. The Funds distribute their net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually. The Funds may also pay a special distribution at the end of a calendar year to comply with federal tax requirements.
No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Funds. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by beneficial owners of the Funds for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Funds purchased in the secondary market.
Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available.
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Taxes
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:
| o | A Fund makes distributions, |
| o | You sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and |
| o | You purchase or redeem Creation Units. |
Taxes on Distributions
Distributions from each Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income, except that each Fund’s dividends attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends received on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions), if any, generally are subject to federal income tax for non-corporate shareholders who satisfy those restrictions with respect to their Shares at the rate for net capital gain. A part of each Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations -- the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends each Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (excluding Real Estate Investment Trusts) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations -- subject to similar restrictions. However, dividends a corporate shareholder deducts pursuant to that deduction are subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax.
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Funds (if that option is available). Distributions reinvested in additional Shares through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if available, will be taxable to shareholders acquiring the additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash. Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the Shares.
Distributions in excess of a Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in the Shares and as capital gain thereafter. A distribution will reduce a Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain (as described above) even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.
By law, the Funds are required to withhold 28% of your distributions and redemption proceeds if you have not provided the Fund with a correct Social Security number or other taxpayer identification number and in certain other situations.
Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less. The ability to deduct capital losses from sales of Shares may be limited.
Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus any Cash Component it pays. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received plus any cash equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed and the value of the securities. The Internal Revenue Service (“Service”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” or for other reasons. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.
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If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you purchased or sold and at what price. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for a description of the newly effective requirement regarding basis determination methods applicable to Share redemptions and each Fund’s obligation to report basis information to the Service.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Shares under all applicable tax laws. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for more information.
FUND SERVICE PROVIDERS
Bank of New York Mellon is the Funds’ administrator, transfer agent, custodian and fund accountant. It has its principal office at 240 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10286, and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds.
Foreside Financial Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101, is the distributor for the shares of the Funds. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
Thompson Hine LLP, 41 South High Street, 17th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1350 Euclid Ave., Suite 800, Cleveland, OH 44115, serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Funds.
OTHER INFORMATION
Continuous Offering
The method by which Creation Units of Shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units of Shares are issued and sold by the Funds on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares and sells the Shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization as an underwriter.
Broker dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with Shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to Shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.
Dealers effecting transactions in the Shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, are generally required to deliver a Prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a Prospectus when acting as underwriters.
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Householding: To reduce expenses, you may elect to have the Funds mail only one copy of the prospectus and each annual and semi-annual report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please contact your financial institution.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Because the Funds have only recently commenced investment operations, no financial highlights are available for the Funds at this time. In the future, financial highlights will be presented in this section of the Prospectus.
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| Adviser | Simplify
Asset Management, Inc. 54 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018 |
Distributor | Foreside
Financial Services, LLC Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
| Custodian, Administrator & Transfer Agent | Bank
of New York Mellon 240 Greenwich St. New York, NY 10286 |
Legal Counsel |
Thompson
Hine LLP 41 South High Street, Suite 1700 Columbus, OH 43215 |
| Independent Registered Public Accountant |
Cohen & Company Ltd. 1350 Euclid Ave., Suite 800, Cleveland, OH 44115 |
Additional information about the Funds is included in the Funds’ SAI. The SAI is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference (i.e., legally made a part of this Prospectus). The SAI provides more details about the Funds’ policies and management. Additional information about the Funds’ investments will also be available in the Funds’ Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders. In the Funds’ Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds’ performance during the last fiscal year.
To obtain a free copy of the SAI and the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders, or other information about the Funds, or to make shareholder inquiries about the Funds, please call 1 (855) 772-8488. You may also write to:
Simplify Exchange Traded Funds
54 W 40th Street
NY, NY 10018
Reports and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov.
Investment Company Act File # 811-23570
Simplify Volatility Premium ETF
SVOL
Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF
INFC
Simplify Gold Strategy ETF
GLDC
Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF
PFIX
each a series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
May 9, 2021
Listed and traded on:
the NYSE Arca, Inc.
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the combined Prospectus of the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF (“Volatility ETF”), Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF (“Commodity ETF”), Simplify Gold Strategy ETF (“Gold ETF”), and Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (“Hedge ETF”) (each a “Fund” and, together, the “Funds”) dated May 9, 2021. The Funds’ Prospectus is hereby incorporated by reference, which means it is legally part of this document. You can obtain copies of the Funds’ Prospectus, annual or semi-annual reports without charge by contacting the Funds’ Distributor, Foreside Financial Services, LLC or by calling 1 (855) 772-8488. You may also obtain a Prospectus by visiting the website at www.simplify.us.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE FUNDS
The Funds are each a series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds, a Delaware statutory trust organized on February 28, 2020 (the “Trust”). The Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company. The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board” or “Trustees”). The Volatility ETF, the Commodity ETF, and the Gold ETF are each a diversified series of the Trust and the Hedge ETF is a non-diversified series of the Trust.
The Funds may issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest (“Shares”). All Shares have equal rights and privileges. Each Share is entitled to one vote on all matters as to which Shares are entitled to vote. In addition, each Share is entitled to participate equally with other Shares (i) in dividends and distributions declared by such Fund and (ii) on liquidation to its proportionate share of the assets remaining after satisfaction of outstanding liabilities. Shares are fully paid, non-assessable and fully transferable when issued and have no pre-emptive, conversion or exchange rights.
Each Fund is managed by Simplify Asset Management Inc. (the “Adviser”). The Volatility ETF seeks to provide investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond approximately to one-fifth to three-tenths the inverse (-0.2x to -0.3x) of the performance of the S&P 500 VIX short-term futures index while seeking to mitigate extreme volatility, the Commodity ETF seeks to provide capital appreciation, the Gold ETF seeks to provide returns that reflect the performance of the price of Gold bullion, and the Hedge ETF seeks to hedge interest rate movements arising from rising long-term interest rates, and to benefit from market stress when fixed income volatility increases, while providing the potential for income. The Board may start other series and offer shares of a new fund under the Trust at any time.
The Funds are exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), which are registered open-end management companies that issue (and redeem) creation units (“Creation Units”) to (and from) authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) in exchange for a basket and a cash balancing amount (if any) and the shares of which are listed on a national securities exchange and traded at market-determined prices. An Authorized Participant is a financial institution that is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) which has a written agreement with a Fund or one of its service providers that allows the financial institution to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. The Funds issue and redeem shares on a continuous basis at net asset value per share (“NAV”) in aggregations of a specified number of shares called “Creation Units.” Creation Units are a specified number of a Fund’s shares (e.g., 25,000 that a Fund will issue to (or redeem from) an Authorized Participant in exchange for the deposit (or delivery) of a basket and a cash balancing amount if any. Shares trade in the secondary market at market prices that may differ from the shares’ NAV. Shares are not individually redeemable, but are redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment. A Creation Unit of a Fund consists of a block of 25,000 shares. Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants will not be able to purchase or redeem shares directly with or from a Fund.
The Funds reserve the right to offer creations and redemptions of Shares for cash. In addition, Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of deposit securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash equal to up to 115% of the market value of the missing deposit securities. In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, transaction fees, may be imposed and may be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. See PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF SHARES below.
Exchange Listing and Trading
There can be no assurance that the requirements of the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Funds will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Funds from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Funds shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of the Funds for 30 or more consecutive trading days, or (ii) any other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will also remove shares of the Funds from listing and trading upon termination of the Funds.
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TYPES OF INVESTMENTS
A discussion of the risks associated with an investment in each Fund is contained in the Prospectus under the headings “Fund Summary—Principal Investment Strategies” with respect to the applicable Fund, and “Additional Information About the Principal Investment Strategies and Risks.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.
General Risks and Considerations
An investment in a Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in securities, including the risk that the general condition of the securities market may deteriorate. Securities are susceptible to general securities market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.
The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for a Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Securities of Other Investment Companies
Investments in ETFs and mutual funds involve certain additional expenses and certain tax results, which would not be present in a direct investment in such funds. Due to legal limitations, a Fund will be prevented from: 1) purchasing more than 3% of an investment company’s (including ETFs) outstanding shares; 2) investing more than 5% of a Fund’s assets in any single such investment company, and 3) investing more than 10% of a Fund’s assets in investment companies overall; unless: (i) the underlying investment company and/or a Fund has received an order for exemptive relief from such limitations from the SEC; and (ii) the underlying investment company and a Fund take appropriate steps to comply with any conditions in such order. In the alternative, a Fund may rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) and Rule 12d1-3, which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% limitation and the 10% limitation, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired fund) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for funds of funds. In addition to ETFs, a Fund may invest in other investment companies such as open-end mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, within the limitations described above. Each investment company is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of a Fund. ETFs and mutual funds may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the underlying stock or other index upon which they are based.
Open-End Investment Companies
A Fund and any “affiliated persons,” as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) may purchase in the aggregate only up to 3% of the total outstanding securities of any underlying fund. Accordingly, when affiliated persons hold shares of any of the underlying fund, a Fund’s ability to invest fully in shares of those funds is restricted, and the Adviser must then, in some instances, select alternative investments that would not have been its first preference. The 1940 Act also provides that an underlying fund whose shares are purchased by a Fund will be obligated to redeem shares held by a Fund only in an amount up to 1% of the underlying fund’s outstanding securities during any period of less than 30 days. Shares in excess of 1% of an underlying fund’s outstanding securities therefore, will be considered not readily marketable securities, which, together with other such securities, may not exceed 15% of a Fund’s total assets.
Under certain circumstances an underlying fund may determine to make payment of a redemption by a Fund wholly or partly by a distribution in kind of securities from its portfolio, in lieu of cash, in conformity with the rules of the SEC. In such cases, a Fund may hold securities distributed by an underlying fund until the Adviser determines that it is appropriate to dispose of such securities.
Investment decisions by the investment advisers of the underlying fund(s) are made independently of a Fund and the Adviser. Therefore, the investment adviser of one underlying fund may be purchasing shares of the same issuer whose shares are being sold by the investment adviser of another such fund. The result would be an indirect expense to a Fund without accomplishing any investment purpose.
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Exchange Traded Funds
ETFs are often passive funds that track their related index and have the flexibility of trading like a security. They are managed by professionals and typically provide the investor with diversification, cost and tax efficiency, liquidity, marginability, are useful for hedging, have the ability to go long and short, and some provide quarterly dividends. Additionally, some ETFs are unit investment trusts. Under certain circumstances, the adviser may invest in ETFs, known as “inverse funds,” which are designed to produce results opposite to market trends. Inverse ETFs are funds designed to rise in price when stock prices are falling.
ETFs have two markets. The primary market is where institutions swap “creation units” in block-multiples of, for example, 25,000 shares for in-kind securities and cash in the form of dividends. The secondary market is where individual investors can trade as little as a single share during trading hours on the exchange. This is different from open-ended mutual funds that are traded after hours once the NAV is calculated. ETFs share many similar risks with open-end and closed-end funds.
Foreign Securities
Investing in securities of foreign companies and countries involves certain considerations and risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. government securities and securities of domestic companies. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than a domestic one, and foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. There may also be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies than exists in the United States. Interest and dividends paid by foreign issuers may be subject to withholding and other foreign taxes, which may decrease the net return on such investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to a Fund by domestic companies or the U.S. government. There may be the possibility of expropriations, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, confiscatory taxation, political, economic or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect assets of a Fund held in foreign countries. Finally, the establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations.
To the extent currency exchange transactions do not fully protect a Fund against adverse changes in currency exchange rates, decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which a Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund’s assets denominated in those currencies (and possibly a corresponding increase in the amount of securities required to be liquidated to meet distribution requirements). Conversely, increases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which a Fund invests relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding increase in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund’s assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).
Short Sales
A Fund may sell securities short as an outright investment strategy and to offset potential declines in long positions in similar securities. A short sale is a transaction in which a Fund sells a security it does not own or have the right to acquire (or that it owns but does not wish to deliver) in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline.
When a Fund makes a short sale, the broker-dealer through which the short sale is made must borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the party purchasing the security. A Fund is required to make a margin deposit in connection with such short sales; a Fund may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay over any dividends and accrued interest on borrowed securities.
If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time a Fund covers its short position, a Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, a Fund will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. The successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.
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To the extent a Fund sells securities short, it will provide collateral to the broker-dealer and (except in the case of short sales “against the box”) will maintain additional asset coverage in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid securities with its custodian in a segregated account in an amount at least equal to the difference between the current market value of the securities sold short and any amounts required to be deposited as collateral with the selling broker. A short sale is “against the box” to the extent a Fund contemporaneously owns, or has the right to obtain at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short.
Common Stock
Common stock represents an equity (ownership) interest in a company, and usually possesses voting rights and earns dividends. Dividends on common stock are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the issuer. Common stock generally represents the riskiest investment in a company. In addition, common stock generally has the greatest appreciation and depreciation potential because increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company’s stock price.
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock is a class of stock having a preference over common stock as to the payment of dividends and the recovery of investment should a company be liquidated, although preferred stock is usually junior to the debt securities of the issuer. Preferred stock typically does not possess voting rights and its market value may change based on changes in interest rates.
A fundamental risk of investing in common and preferred stock is the risk that the value of the stock might decrease. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of an individual company or in response to general market and/or economic conditions. Historically, common stocks have provided greater long-term returns and have entailed greater short-term risks than preferred stocks, fixed-income securities and money market investments. The market value of all securities, including common and preferred stocks, is based upon the market’s perception of value and not necessarily the book value of an issuer or other objective measures of a company’s worth.
Convertible Securities
Convertible securities include fixed income securities that may be exchanged or converted into a predetermined number of shares of the issuer’s underlying common stock at the option of the holder during a specified period. Convertible securities may take the form of convertible preferred stock, convertible bonds or debentures, units consisting of “usable” bonds and warrants or a combination of the features of several of these securities. Convertible securities are senior to common stocks in an issuer’s capital structure, but are usually subordinated to similar non-convertible securities. While providing a fixed-income stream (generally higher in yield than the income derivable from common stock but lower than that afforded by a similar nonconvertible security), a convertible security also gives an investor the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation of the issuing company depending upon a market price advance in the convertible security’s underlying common stock.
Bonds
A bond is an interest-bearing security issued by a U.S. or non-U.S. company, or U.S. or non-U.S. governmental unit. The issuer of a bond has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors.
An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case a fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, a fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Accordingly, a fixed-rate bond’s yield (income as a percent of the bond’s current value) may differ from its coupon rate as its value rises or falls. When an investor purchases a fixed-rate bond at a price that is greater than its face value, the investor is purchasing the bond at a premium. Conversely, when an investor purchases a fixed-rate bond at a price that is less than its face value, the investor is purchasing the bond at a discount. Fixed-rate bonds that are purchased at a discount pay less current income than securities with comparable yields that are purchased at face value, with the result that prices for such fixed-rate securities can be more volatile than prices for such securities that are purchased at face value. Other types of bonds bear interest at an interest rate that is adjusted periodically. Interest rates on “floating rate” or “variable rate” bonds may be higher or lower than current market rates for fixed-rate bonds of comparable quality with similar final maturities.
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Because of their adjustable interest rates, the value of “floating rate” or “variable rate” bonds fluctuates much less in response to market interest rate movements than the value of fixed-rate bonds, but their value may decline if their interest rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as interest rates in general. The Funds may treat some of these bonds as having a shorter maturity for purposes of calculating the weighted average maturity of its investment portfolio. Generally, prices of higher quality issues tend to fluctuate less with changes in market interest rates than prices of lower quality issues and prices of longer maturity issues tend to fluctuate more than prices of shorter maturity issues. Bonds may be senior or subordinated obligations. Senior obligations generally have the first claim on a corporation’s earnings and assets and, in the event of liquidation, are paid before subordinated obligations. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).
Corporate Bonds
The investment return of corporate bonds reflects interest earned on the security and changes in the market value of the security. The market value of a corporate bond may be affected by changes in the market rate of interest, the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace. There is a risk that the issuers of the securities may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument.
Real Estate Investment Trusts
A Fund may invest in securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 95% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.
REITs generally can be classified as “Equity REITs”, “Mortgage REITs” and “Hybrid REITs.” An Equity REIT invests the majority of its assets directly in real property and derives its income primarily from rents and from capital gains on real estate appreciation, which are realized through property sales. A Mortgage REIT invests the majority of its assets in real estate mortgage loans and services its income primarily from interest payments. A Hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of an Equity REIT and a Mortgage REIT. Although a Fund can invest in all three kinds of REITs, its emphasis is expected to be on investments in Equity REITs.
Investments in the real estate industry involve particular risks. The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies that own and operate real estate directly, companies that lend to such companies, and companies that service the real estate industry.
Investments in REITs also involve risks. Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and income from the properties they own, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. In addition, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or their failure to maintain an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through a Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of a Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.
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Warrants
Warrants are options to purchase common stock at a specific price (usually at a premium above the market value of the optioned common stock at issuance) valid for a specific period of time. Warrants may have a life ranging from less than one year to twenty years, or they may be perpetual. However, most warrants have expiration dates after which they are worthless. In addition, a warrant is worthless if the market price of the common stock does not exceed the warrant’s exercise price during the life of the warrant. Warrants have no voting rights, pay no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the corporation issuing them. The percentage increase or decrease in the market price of the warrant may tend to be greater than the percentage increase or decrease in the market price of the optioned common stock.
Depositary Receipts
Sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), are receipts issued by an American bank or trust company evidencing ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign issuer. ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets. Unsponsored ADRs may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of these ADRs generally bear all the costs of the ADR facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored ADR. The bank or trust company depositary of an unsponsored ADR may be under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the foreign issuer or to pass through voting rights. Many of the risks described below regarding foreign securities apply to investments in ADRs.
Emerging Markets Securities
Investing in emerging market securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by a Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries.
Additional risks of emerging markets securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. In addition, emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions. Settlement problems may cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, or be delayed in disposing of a portfolio security. Such a delay could result in possible liability to a purchaser of the security.
Certificates of Deposit and Bankers’ Acceptances
Certificates of deposit are receipts issued by a depository institution in exchange for the deposit of funds. The issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the receipt on the date specified on the certificate. The certificate usually can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Bankers’ acceptances typically arise from short-term credit arrangements designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less.
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Commercial Paper
Commercial paper consists of short-term (usually from 1 to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. It may be secured by letters of credit, a surety bond or other forms of collateral. Commercial paper is usually repaid at maturity by the issuer from the proceeds of the issuance of new commercial paper. As a result, investment in commercial paper is subject to the risk the issuer cannot issue enough new commercial paper to satisfy its outstanding commercial paper, also known as rollover risk. Commercial paper may become illiquid or may suffer from reduced liquidity in certain circumstances. Like all fixed income securities, commercial paper prices are susceptible to fluctuations in interest rates. If interest rates rise, commercial paper prices will decline. The short-term nature of a commercial paper investment makes it less susceptible to interest rate risk than many other fixed income securities because interest rate risk typically increases as maturity lengths increase. Commercial paper tends to yield smaller returns than longer-term corporate debt because securities with shorter maturities typically have lower effective yields than those with longer maturities. As with all fixed income securities, there is a chance that the issuer will default on its commercial paper obligation.
Information on Time Deposits and Variable Rate Notes
Time deposits are issued by a depository institution in exchange for the deposit of funds. The issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the depositor on the date specified with respect to the deposit. Time deposits do not trade in the secondary market prior to maturity. However, some time deposits may be redeemable prior to maturity and may be subject to withdrawal penalties.
The commercial paper obligations are typically unsecured and may include variable rate notes. The nature and terms of a variable rate note (i.e., a “Master Note”) permit a Fund to invest fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement between a Fund and the issuer. It permits daily changes in the amounts invested. A Fund, typically, has the right at any time to increase, up to the full amount stated in the note agreement, or to decrease the amount outstanding under the note. The issuer may prepay at any time and without penalty any part of or the full amount of the note. The note may or may not be backed by one or more bank letters of credit. Because these notes are direct investment arrangements between a Fund and the issuer, it is not generally contemplated that they will be traded; moreover, there is currently no secondary market for them. Except as specifically provided in the Prospectus, there is no limitation on the type of issuer from whom these notes may be purchased; however, in connection with such purchase and on an ongoing basis, the Adviser will consider the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuer, and its ability to pay principal and interest on demand, including a situation in which all holders of such notes made demand simultaneously. Variable rate notes are subject to a Fund’s investment restriction on illiquid securities unless such notes can be put back to the issuer (redeemed) on demand within seven days.
Insured Bank Obligations
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insures the deposits of federally insured banks and savings and loan associations (collectively referred to as “banks”) up to $250,000. A Fund may elect to purchase bank obligations in small amounts so as to be fully insured as to principal by the FDIC. Currently, to remain fully insured as to principal, these investments must be limited to $250,000 per bank; if the principal amount and accrued interest together exceed $250,000, the excess principal and accrued interest will not be insured. Insured bank obligations may have limited marketability.
Closed-End Investment Companies
A Fund may invest its assets in closed-end investment companies (or “closed-end funds”), subject to the investment restrictions set forth above. Shares of closed-end funds are typically offered to the public in a one-time initial public offering by a group of underwriters who retain a spread or underwriting commission of between 4% or 6% of the initial public offering price. Such securities are then listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (commonly known as “NASDAQ”) or, in some cases, may be traded in other over-the-counter markets. Because the shares of closed-end funds cannot be redeemed upon demand to the issuer like the shares of an open-end investment company (such as a Fund), investors seek to buy and sell shares of closed-end funds in the secondary market.
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A Fund generally will purchase shares of closed-end funds only in the secondary market. A Fund will incur normal brokerage costs on such purchases similar to the expenses a Fund would incur for the purchase of securities of any other type of issuer in the secondary market. A Fund may, however, also purchase securities of a closed-end fund in an initial public offering when, in the opinion of the Adviser, based on a consideration of the nature of the closed-end fund’s proposed investments, the prevailing market conditions and the level of demand for such securities, they represent an attractive opportunity for growth of capital. The initial offering price typically will include a dealer spread, which may be higher than the applicable brokerage cost if a Fund purchased such securities in the secondary market.
The shares of many closed-end funds, after their initial public offering, frequently trade at a price per share, which is less than the net asset value per share, the difference representing the “market discount” of such shares. This market discount may be due in part to the investment objective of long-term appreciation, which is sought by many closed-end funds, as well as to the fact that the shares of closed-end funds are not redeemable by the holder upon demand to the issuer at the next determined net asset value but rather are subject to the principles of supply and demand in the secondary market. A relative lack of secondary market purchasers of closed-end fund shares also may contribute to such shares trading at a discount to their net asset value.
A Fund may invest in shares of closed-end funds that are trading at a discount to net asset value or at a premium to NAV. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any closed-end fund purchased by a Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase and a Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such closed-end funds, thereby adversely affecting the net asset value of a Fund’s shares. Similarly, there can be no assurance that any shares of a closed-end fund purchased by a Fund at a premium will continue to trade at a premium or that the premium will not decrease subsequent to a purchase of such shares by a Fund.
Closed-end funds may issue senior securities (including preferred stock and debt obligations) for the purpose of leveraging the closed-end fund’s common shares in an attempt to enhance the current return to such closed-end fund’s common shareholders. A Fund’s investment in the common shares of closed-end funds that are financially leveraged may create an opportunity for greater total return on its investment, but at the same time may be expected to exhibit more volatility in market price and net asset value than an investment in shares of investment companies without a leveraged capital structure.
United States Government Obligations
These consist of various types of marketable securities issued by the United States Treasury, i.e., bills, notes and bonds. Such securities are direct obligations of the United States government and differ mainly in the length of their maturity. Treasury bills, the most frequently issued marketable government security, have a maturity of up to one year and are issued on a discount basis.
Debt Issued by United States Government Agencies
These consist of debt securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the United States government, including the various types of instruments currently outstanding or which may be offered in the future. Agencies include, among others, the Federal Housing Administration, Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), Farmer’s Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Maritime Administration, and General Services Administration. Instrumentalities include, for example, each of the Federal Home Loan Banks, the National Bank for Cooperatives, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), the Farm Credit Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), and the United States Postal Service. These securities are either: (i) backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government (e.g., United States Treasury Bills); (ii) guaranteed by the United States Treasury (e.g., Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities); (iii) supported by the issuing agency’s or instrumentality’s right to borrow from the United States Treasury (e.g., Fannie Mae Discount Notes); or (iv) supported only by the issuing agency’s or instrumentality’s own credit (e.g., Tennessee Valley Association).
Government-related guarantors (i.e. not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored corporation owned entirely by private stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Fannie Mae purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.
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Freddie Mac was created by Congress in 1970 for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit for residential housing. It is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned entirely by private stockholders. Freddie Mac issues participation certificates (“PCs”), which represent interests in conventional mortgages from Freddie Mac’s national portfolio. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal, but PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers also create pass-through pools of conventional residential mortgage loans. Such issuers may, in addition, be the originators and/or servicers of the underlying mortgage loans as well as the guarantors of the mortgage-related securities. Pools created by such nongovernmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government and government-related pools because there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the former pools. However, timely payment of interest and principal of these pools may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of credit. The insurance and guarantees are issued by governmental entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers.
Securities Options
A Fund may purchase and write (i.e., sell) put and call options. Such options may relate to particular securities or stock indices, and may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange and may or may not be issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. Options trading is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options may be more volatile than the underlying instruments, and therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves.
A call option for a particular security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer (seller) the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security. The premium paid to the writer is in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security gives the purchaser the right to sell the security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security.
Stock index options are put options and call options on various stock indices. In most respects, they are identical to listed options on common stocks. The primary difference between stock options and index options occurs when index options are exercised. In the case of stock options, the underlying security, common stock, is delivered. However, upon the exercise of an index option, settlement does not occur by delivery of the securities comprising the index. The option holder who exercises the index option receives an amount of cash if the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the stock index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market value of the stocks included in the index. For example, some stock index options are based on a broad market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index or the Value Line Composite Index or a narrower market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 100®. Indices may also be based on an industry or market segment, such as the NYSE Arca Oil and Gas Index or the Computer and Business Equipment Index. Options on stock indices are currently traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ PHLX.
A Fund’s obligation to sell an instrument subject to a call option written by it, or to purchase an instrument subject to a put option written by it, may be terminated prior to the expiration date of the option by a Fund’s execution of a closing purchase transaction, which is effected by purchasing on an exchange an option of the same series (i.e., same underlying instrument, exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously written. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying instrument from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying instrument or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying instrument. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transactions costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event a Fund will have paid a loss in the transaction. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. An option writer unable to effect a closing purchase transaction will not be able to sell the underlying instrument or liquidate the assets held in a segregated account, as described below, until the option expires or the optioned instrument is delivered upon exercise. In such circumstances, the writer will be subject to the risk of market decline or appreciation in the instrument during such period.
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If an option purchased by a Fund expires unexercised, a Fund realizes a loss equal to the premium paid. If a Fund enters into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, a Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by a Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, or a loss if it is less. If an option written by a Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold). If an option written by a Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received and a Fund will realize a gain or loss.
Certain Risks Regarding Options
There are several risks associated with transactions in options. For example, there are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular options, whether traded over-the-counter or on an exchange, may be absent for reasons which include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities or currencies; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading value; or one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
Successful use by a Fund of options on stock indices will be subject to the ability of the Adviser to correctly predict movements in the directions of the stock market. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. In addition, a Fund’s ability to effectively hedge all or a portion of the securities in its portfolio, in anticipation of or during a market decline, through transactions in put options on stock indices, depends on the degree to which price movements in the underlying index correlate with the price movements of the securities held by a Fund. In as much as a Fund’s securities will not duplicate the components of an index, the correlation will not be perfect. Consequently, a Fund bears the risk that the prices of its securities being hedged will not move in the same amount as the prices of its put options on the stock indices. It is also possible that there may be a negative correlation between the index and a Fund’s securities that would result in a loss on both such securities and the options on stock indices acquired by a Fund.
The hours of trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets. The purchase of options is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The purchase of stock index options involves the risk that the premium and transaction costs paid by a Fund in purchasing an option will be lost as a result of unanticipated movements in prices of the securities comprising the stock index on which the option is based.
There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an options exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and for some options no secondary market on an exchange or elsewhere may exist. If a Fund is unable to close out a call option on securities that it has written before the option is exercised, a Fund may be required to purchase the optioned securities in order to satisfy its obligation under the option to deliver such securities. If a Fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options on securities that it has purchased, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit and would incur transaction costs upon the purchase and sale of the underlying securities.
Cover for Options Positions
Transactions using options (other than options that a Fund has purchased) expose a Fund to an obligation to another party. A Fund will not enter into any such transactions unless it owns either (i) an offsetting (“covered”) position in securities or other options or (ii) cash or liquid securities with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations not covered as provided in (i) above. A Fund will comply with SEC guidelines regarding cover for these instruments and, if the guidelines so require, set aside cash or liquid securities in a segregated account with a Fund’ custodian in the prescribed amount. Under current SEC guidelines, a Fund will segregate assets to cover transactions in which a Fund writes or sells options.
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Assets used as cover or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding option is open, unless they are replaced with similar assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of a Fund’s assets to cover or segregated accounts could impede portfolio management or a Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Options on Futures Contracts
A Fund may purchase and sell options on the same types of futures in which it may invest. Options on futures are similar to options on underlying instruments except that options on futures give the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put), rather than to purchase or sell the futures contract, at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by the delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract, at exercise, exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the exercise date suffer a loss of the premium paid.
Dealer Options
A Fund may engage in transactions involving dealer options as well as exchange-traded options. Certain additional risks are specific to dealer options. While a Fund might look to a clearing corporation to exercise exchange-traded options, if a Fund were to purchase a dealer option it would need to rely on the dealer from which it purchased the option to perform if the option were exercised. Failure by the dealer to do so would result in the loss of the premium paid by a Fund as well as loss of the expected benefit of the transaction.
Exchange traded options generally have a continuous liquid market while dealer options may not. Consequently, a Fund may generally be able to realize the value of a dealer option it has purchased only by exercising or reselling the option to the dealer who issued it. Similarly, when a Fund writes a dealer option, it may generally be able to close out the option prior to its expiration only by entering into a closing purchase transaction with the dealer to whom a Fund originally wrote the option. While a Fund will seek to enter into dealer options only with dealers who will agree to and which are expected to be capable of entering into closing transactions with a Fund, there can be no assurance that a Fund will at any time be able to liquidate a dealer option at a favorable price at any time prior to expiration. Unless a Fund, as a covered dealer call option writer, is able to effect a closing purchase transaction, it will not be able to liquidate securities (or other assets) used as cover until the option expires or is exercised. In the event of insolvency of the other party, a Fund may be unable to liquidate a dealer option. With respect to options written by a Fund, the inability to enter into a closing transaction may result in material losses to a Fund. For example, because a Fund must maintain a secured position with respect to any call option on a security it writes, a Fund may not sell the assets, which it has segregated to secure the position while it is obligated under the option. This requirement may impair a Fund’s ability to sell portfolio securities at a time when such sale might be advantageous.
The Staff of the SEC has taken the position that purchased dealer options are illiquid securities. A Fund may treat the cover used for written dealer options as liquid if the dealer agrees that a Fund may repurchase the dealer option it has written for a maximum price to be calculated by a predetermined formula. In such cases, the dealer option would be considered illiquid only to the extent the maximum purchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the option. Accordingly, a Fund will treat dealer options as subject to a Fund’s limitation on illiquid securities. If the SEC changes its position on the liquidity of dealer options, a Fund will change its treatment of such instruments accordingly.
Spread Transactions
A Fund may purchase covered spread options from securities dealers. These covered spread options are not presently exchange-listed or exchange-traded. The purchase of a spread option gives a Fund the right to put securities that it owns at a fixed dollar spread or fixed yield spread in relationship to another security that a Fund does not own, but which is used as a benchmark. The risk to a Fund, in addition to the risks of dealer options described above, is the cost of the premium paid as well as any transaction costs. The purchase of spread options will be used to protect a Fund against adverse changes in prevailing credit quality spreads, i.e., the yield spread between high quality and lower quality securities. This protection is provided only during the life of the spread options.
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Repurchase Agreements
A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. In a repurchase agreement, an investor (such as a Fund) purchases a security (known as the “underlying security”) from a securities dealer or bank. Any such dealer or bank must be deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. At that time, the bank or securities dealer agrees to repurchase the underlying security at a mutually agreed upon price on a designated future date. The repurchase price may be higher than the purchase price, the difference being income to a Fund, or the purchase and repurchase prices may be the same, with interest at an agreed upon rate due to a Fund on repurchase. In either case, the income to a Fund generally will be unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying securities. Repurchase agreements must be “fully collateralized,” in that the market value of the underlying securities (including accrued interest) must at all times be equal to or greater than the repurchase price. Therefore, a repurchase agreement can be considered a loan collateralized by the underlying securities.
Repurchase agreements are generally for a short period of time, often less than a week, and will generally be used by a Fund to invest excess cash or as part of a temporary defensive strategy. Repurchase agreements that do not provide for payment within seven days will be treated as illiquid securities. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default by the seller of a repurchase agreement, a Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying security and losses. These losses could result from: (a) possible decline in the value of the underlying security while a Fund is seeking to enforce its rights under the repurchase agreement; (b) possible reduced levels of income or lack of access to income during this period; and (c) expenses of enforcing its rights.
Trading in Futures Contracts
A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument (e.g., units of a stock index) for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. Brokerage fees are paid when a futures contract is bought or sold and margin deposits must be maintained. Entering into a contract to buy is commonly referred to as buying or purchasing a contract or holding a long position. Entering into a contract to sell is commonly referred to as selling a contract or holding a short position.
Unlike when a Fund purchases or sells a security, no price would be paid or received by a Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Upon entering into a futures contract, and to maintain a Fund’s open positions in futures contracts, a Fund would be required to deposit with its custodian or futures broker in a segregated account in the name of the futures broker an amount of cash, U.S. government securities, suitable money market instruments, or other liquid securities, known as “initial margin.” The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margins that may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded.
If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in underlying instrument or index in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin. However, if the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, the broker will pay the excess to a Fund.
These subsequent payments, called “variation margin,” to and from the futures broker, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying assets fluctuate making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking to the market.” A Fund expects to earn interest income on margin deposits.
Although certain futures contracts, by their terms, require actual future delivery of and payment for the underlying instruments, in practice most futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open futures contract purchase or sale is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract sale or purchase, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical underlying instrument or index and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, a Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, a Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, a Fund realizes a gain; if it is less, a Fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that a Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time. If a Fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, a Fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits on the futures contract.
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For example, one contract in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index future is a contract to buy 25 pounds sterling multiplied by the level of the UK Financial Times 100 Share Index on a given future date. Settlement of a stock index futures contract may or may not be in the underlying instrument or index. If not in the underlying instrument or index, then settlement will be made in cash, equivalent over time to the difference between the contract price and the actual price of the underlying asset at the time the stock index futures contract expires.
Regulation as a Commodity Pool Operator
The Adviser is registered with the National Futures Association as a commodity pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to the Funds’ operation.
When-Issued, Forward Commitments and Delayed Settlements
A Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis. In this event, the Custodian (as defined under the section entitled “Custodian”) will segregate liquid assets equal to the amount of the commitment in a separate account. Normally, the Custodian will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment. In such a case, a Fund may be required subsequently to segregate additional assets in order to assure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of a Fund’s commitment. It may be expected that a Fund’s net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash.
The Funds do not intend to engage in these transactions for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of their investment objectives. Because a Fund will segregate liquid assets to satisfy purchase commitments in the manner described, a Fund’s liquidity and the ability of the Adviser to manage them may be affected in the event a Fund’s forward commitments, commitments to purchase when-issued securities and delayed settlements ever exceeded 15% of the value of its net assets.
A Fund will purchase securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis only with the intention of completing the transaction. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, a Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into, and may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to a Fund on the settlement date. In these cases a Fund may realize a taxable capital gain or loss. When a Fund engages in when-issued, forward commitment and delayed settlement transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of such party to do so may result in a Fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price credited to be advantageous.
The market value of the securities underlying a when-issued purchase, forward commitment to purchase securities, or a delayed settlement and any subsequent fluctuations in their market value is taken into account when determining the market value of a Fund starting on the day a Fund agrees to purchase the securities. A Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until it has paid for and delivered on the settlement date.
Illiquid and Restricted Securities
A Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities include securities subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale (e.g., because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)) and securities that are otherwise not readily marketable (e.g., because trading in the security is suspended or because market makers do not exist or will not entertain bids or offers). Securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. Foreign securities that are freely tradable in their principal markets are not considered to be illiquid.
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Restricted and other illiquid securities may be subject to the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. A Fund might be unable to dispose of illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemption requests from shareholders. A Fund might have to register restricted securities in order to dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
A large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act, including foreign securities. The fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of the liquidity of such investments. Rule 144A under the Securities Act allows such a broader institutional trading market for securities otherwise subject to restrictions on resale to the general public. Rule 144A establishes a “safe harbor” from the registration requirements of the Securities Act for resale of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers. Rule 144A has produced enhanced liquidity for many restricted securities, and market liquidity for such securities may continue to expand as a result of this regulation and the consequent existence of the PORTAL system, which is an automated system for the trading, clearance and settlement of unregistered securities of domestic and foreign issuers sponsored by NASDAQ.
Under guidelines adopted by the Board, the Adviser may determine that particular Rule 144A securities, and commercial paper issued in reliance on the private placement exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, are liquid even though they are not registered. A determination of whether such a security is liquid or not is a question of fact. In making this determination, the Adviser will consider, as it deems appropriate under the circumstances and among other factors: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security; (3) the number of other potential purchasers of the security; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; (5) the nature of the security (e.g., debt or equity, date of maturity, terms of dividend or interest payments, and other material terms) and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers, and the mechanics of transfer); and (6) the rating of the security and the financial condition and prospects of the issuer. In the case of commercial paper, the Adviser will also determine that the paper (1) is not traded flat or in default as to principal and interest, and (2) is rated in one of the two highest rating categories by at least two Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”) or, if only one NRSRO rates the security, by that NRSRO, or, if the security is unrated, the Adviser determines that it is of equivalent quality.
Rule 144A securities and Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper that have been deemed liquid as described above will continue to be monitored by the Adviser to determine if the security is no longer liquid as the result of changed conditions. Investing in Rule 144A securities or Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper could have the effect of increasing the amount of a Fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities if institutional buyers are unwilling to purchase such securities.
Lending Portfolio Securities
For the purpose of achieving income, a Fund may lend its portfolio securities, provided (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. Government securities or cash or cash equivalents (cash, U.S. Government securities, negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit) maintained on a daily mark-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned, (2) a Fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of securities loaned, (3) a Fund will receive any interest or dividends received on the loaned securities, and (4) the aggregate value of the securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of a Fund.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
Each Fund has adopted the following investment restrictions that may not be changed without approval by a “majority of the outstanding shares” of a Fund, which, as used in this SAI, means the vote of the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the shares of a Fund represented at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a Fund. Each Fund may not:
| 1. | Issue senior securities, except as otherwise permitted under the 1940 Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; |
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| 2. | Borrow money, except (a) from a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of a Fund; or (b) from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of a Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude a Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that a Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of a Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions; |
| 3. | The Funds may not engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act, in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with its investments in other investment companies; |
| 4. | Purchase or sell real estate or interests in real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude a Fund from investing in mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including REITs); |
| 5. | Invest more than 25% of the market value of its assets in the securities of companies engaged in any one industry or group of industries. This limitation does not apply to investment in the securities of the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; |
| 6. | Purchase or sell commodities (unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments) or commodity futures contracts, except that a Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts and options to the full extent permitted under the 1940 Act, sell foreign currency contracts in accordance with any rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, invest in securities or other instruments backed by commodities, and invest in companies that are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities; or |
| 7. | Make loans to others, except that a Fund may, in accordance with its investment objective and policies, (i) lend portfolio securities, (ii) purchase and hold debt securities or other debt instruments, including but not limited to loan participations and sub-participations, assignments, and structured securities, (iii) make loans secured by mortgages on real property, (iv) enter into repurchase agreements, (v) enter into transactions where each loan is represented by a note executed by the borrower, and (vi) make time deposits with financial institutions and invest in instruments issued by financial institutions. For purposes of this limitation, the term “loans” shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities. |
If a restriction on a Fund’s investments is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a subsequent change in the percentage of Fund assets invested in certain securities or other instruments of a Fund’s investment portfolio, resulting from changes in the value of a Fund’s total assets, will not be considered a violation of the restriction; provided, however, that the asset coverage requirement applicable to borrowings shall be maintained in the manner contemplated by applicable law.
With respect to fundamental investment restriction #2 above, if a Fund’s asset coverage falls below 300%, a Fund will reduce borrowing within 3 days in order to ensure that a Fund has 300% asset coverage.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about each Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Funds and their service providers may not receive compensation or any other consideration (which includes any agreement to maintain assets in a Fund or in other investment companies or accounts managed by the Adviser or any affiliated person of the Adviser) in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information of the Funds. The Trust’s policy is implemented and overseen by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust, subject to the oversight of the Board. Periodic reports regarding these procedures will be provided to the Board. The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor (as defined below) will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust. The Board must approve all material amendments to this policy.
Each business day, the Funds’ portfolio holdings information will generally be provided for dissemination through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and/or other fee-based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee-based subscription services, including Authorized Participants (as defined below), and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of the Funds in the secondary market. This information typically reflects a Fund’s anticipated holdings as of the next Business Day (as defined below).
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Access to information concerning each Fund’s portfolio holdings may be permitted to personnel of third party service providers, including the Funds’ custodian, transfer agent, auditors and counsel, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with such service providers’ agreements with the Trust on behalf of the Funds.
Portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process may be provided to other entities that provide services to a Fund in the ordinary course of business after it has been disseminated to the NSCC. From time to time, information concerning portfolio holdings other than portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, may be provided to other entities that provide services to a Fund, including rating or ranking organizations, in the ordinary course of business, no earlier than one business day following the date of the information.
The Funds disclose on the Adviser’s website at www.simplify.us at the start of each Business Day the identities and quantities of the securities and other assets held by the Funds that will form the basis of each Fund’s calculation of its NAV on that Business Day. The portfolio holdings so disclosed will be based on information as of the close of business on the prior Business Day and/or trades that have been completed prior to the opening of business on that Business Day and that are expected to settle on that Business Day. The Funds may also concurrently disclose this portfolio holdings information directly to ratings agencies on a daily basis.
Quarterly Portfolio Schedule. The Trust is required to disclose the complete schedule of each Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-PORT. The Trust will also disclose a complete schedule of each Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-CSR after its second and fourth quarters.
Form N-PORT and Form N-CSR for the Funds will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Each Fund’s Form N-PORT and Form N-CSR will be available without charge, upon request, by calling 1 (855) 772-8488 or by writing to: Simplify Exchange Traded Funds 54 W 40th St, New York NY 10018.
The Adviser. Personnel of the Adviser, including personnel responsible for managing each Fund’s portfolio, may have full daily access to Fund portfolio holdings since that information is necessary in order for the Adviser to provide its management, administrative, and investment services to the Funds. As required for purposes of analyzing the impact of existing and future market changes on the prices, availability, as demand and liquidity of such securities, as well as for the assistance of portfolio managers in the trading of such securities, Adviser personnel may also release and discuss certain portfolio holdings with various broker-dealers.
Bank of New York Mellon. Bank of New York Mellon is the fund accountant, administrator, transfer agent and custodian for the Funds; therefore, its personnel have full daily access to each Fund’s portfolio holdings since that information is necessary in order for them to provide the agreed-upon services for the Trust.
Cohen & Company, Ltd. Cohen & Company, Ltd. is each Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm; therefore, its personnel have access to each Fund’s portfolio holdings in connection with auditing of each Fund’s annual financial statements and providing assistance and consultation in connection with SEC filings.
Thompson Hine LLP. Thompson Hine LLP is counsel to the Funds; therefore, its personnel have access to each Fund’s portfolio holdings in connection with review of each Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports and SEC filings.
Additions to List of Approved Recipients
The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer is the person responsible, and whose prior approval is required, for any disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio securities at any time or to any persons other than those described above. In such cases, the recipient must have a legitimate business need for the information and must be subject to a duty to keep the information confidential. There are no ongoing arrangements in place with respect to the disclosure of portfolio holdings. In no event shall the Funds, the Adviser, or any other party receive any direct or indirect compensation in connection with the disclosure of information about the Funds’ portfolio holdings.
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Compliance with Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Procedures
The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer will report periodically to the Board with respect to compliance with the Funds’ portfolio holdings disclosure procedures, and from time to time will provide the Board any updates to the portfolio holdings disclosure policies and procedures.
There is no assurance that the Trust’s policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings will protect the Funds from the potential misuse of holdings information by individuals or firms in possession of that information.
MANAGEMENT
The business of the Trust is managed under the direction of the Board in accordance with the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and the Trust’s By-laws (the “Governing Documents”), which have been filed with the SEC and are available upon request. The Board consists of four (4) individuals, each of whom are not “interested persons” (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust or any investment adviser to any series of the Trust (“Independent Trustees”). Pursuant to the Governing Documents, the Trustees shall elect officers including a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Principal Executive Officer and a Principal Accounting Officer. The Board retains the power to conduct, operate and carry on the business of the Trust and has the power to incur and pay any expenses, which, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary or incidental to carry out any of the Trust’s purposes. The Trustees, officers, employees and agents of the Trust, when acting in such capacities, shall not be subject to any personal liability except for his or her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties.
Board Leadership Structure
The Trust is led by Paul Kim, who has served as the Chairman of the Board since June 2020. The Board of Trustees is comprised of 3 independent Trustees. Additionally, under certain 1940 Act governance guidelines that apply to the Trust, the Independent Trustees will meet in executive session, at least quarterly. Under the Governing Documents, the Chairman of the Board is responsible for (a) presiding at board meetings, (b) calling special meetings on an as-needed basis, (c) executing and administering of Trust policies including (i) setting the agendas for board meetings and (ii) providing information to board members in advance of each board meeting and between board meetings. The Trust believes that its Chairman, the independent chair of the Audit Committee, and, as an entity, the full Board, provide effective leadership that is in the best interests of the Trust, its funds and each shareholder.
Board Risk Oversight
The Board has a standing independent Audit Committee. The Board is responsible for overseeing risk management, and the full Board regularly engages in discussions of risk management and receives compliance reports that inform its oversight of risk management from its Chief Compliance Officer at quarterly meetings and on an ad hoc basis, when and if necessary. The Audit Committee considers financial and reporting risk within its area of responsibilities. Generally, the Board believes that its oversight of material risks is adequately maintained through the compliance-reporting chain where the Chief Compliance Officer is the primary recipient and communicator of such risk-related information.
Trustee Qualifications
Generally, the Trust believes that each Trustee is competent to serve because of their individual overall merits including: (i) experience, (ii) qualifications, (iii) attributes and (iv) skills.
Christopher Caltagirone worked for a major service provider to investment managers and mutual funds for more than 9 years, including as a portfolio manager for fixed income securities. His expertise in fixed income securities and portfolio trading enables Mr. Caltagirone to bring a unique perspective to service provider oversight for the Trust.
Craig Enders has over 20 years of experience as a professor at two major universities. Mr. Enders study of multiple imputation and maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimation with incomplete data enables him to provide oversight for the Trust.
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Paul Kim has worked as a senior director and vice president in ETF strategy and product management for over ten-years. His expertise in developing ETF strategies and actively managed ETFs provides him unique insight on the formation and regulatory oversight of ETFs.
Zung Nguyen has more than 20 years’ experience in the investment management industry and has extensive investment adviser experience. During the course of his career, Mr. Zung has served as a senior managing director and executive wealth advisor for large advisory firm. Mr. Zung has excellent communications skills, as well as an ability to work effectively with others. Mr. Zung brings a diversity of viewpoint, background and experience to the Board.
The Trust does not believe any one factor is determinative in assessing a Trustee’s qualifications, but that the collective experience of each Trustee makes them each highly qualified.
The following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust and each person’s principal occupation over the last five years. The business address of each Trustee and Officer is Simplify Exchange Traded Funds 54 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018. All correspondence to the Trustees and Officers should be directed to c/o Simplify Exchange Traded Funds 54 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018.
Independent Trustees
| Name and Year of Birth | Position/Term of Office* | Principal Occupation During the Past Five Years | Number of Funds in Fund Complex** Overseen by Trustee | Other Directorships held by Trustee during the Past Five Years |
Christopher Caltagirone
|
Independent Trustee | Deputy Sheriff, Ravalli County Sheriff’s Department (2019 to Present); Unemployed (2015 to 2019); Portfolio Manager, PIMCO (2006 to 2015). | 14 | None |
| Craig
Enders Year of Birth: 1968 |
Independent Trustee | Professor, University of California Los Angeles (2015 to Present). | 14 | None |
| Zung
Nguyen Year of Birth: 1955 |
Independent Trustee | Founder, ZTN Capital Consulting, LLC (2015 to Present). | 14 | None |
| * | The term of office for each Trustee and officer listed above will continue indefinitely until the individual resigns or is removed. |
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Interested Trustee and Officers
| Name and Year of Birth | Position/Term of Office* | Principal Occupation During the Past Five Years | Number of Funds in Fund Complex** Overseen by Trustee | Other Directorships held by Trustee during the Past Five Years |
| Paul
Kim Year of Birth: 1977 |
Trustee, President and Treasurer since 2020 | Co-Founder, Simplify Asset Management, Inc. (February 2020 to Present); Managing Director, Principal Global Advisors (2015 to 2020). | 14 | None |
David Berns
|
Secretary since 2020 | Co-Founder, Simplify Asset Management, Inc. (February 2020 to Present); CEO, Portfolio Designer, LLC (2019 to Present); Managing Director, Nasdaq (2018 to 2019); CEO, DMB Trading, LLC (2015 to 2018). | N/A | N/A |
James Nash
|
Chief Compliance Officer since 2020 | Director, Foreside Financial Group, LLC (2016 to Present); Regulatory Administration Advisor, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (2014 to 2016). | N/A | N/A |
| * | The term of office for each Trustee and officer listed above will continue indefinitely until the individual resigns or is removed. |
| ** | The term “Fund Complex” applies to the funds in the Trust. |
Board Committees
Audit Committee
The Board has an Audit Committee that consists of all the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include: (i) recommending to the Board the selection, retention or termination of the Trust’s independent auditors; (ii) reviewing with the independent auditors the scope, performance and anticipated cost of their audit; (iii) discussing with the independent auditors certain matters relating to the Trust’s financial statements, including any adjustment to such financial statements recommended by such independent auditors, or any other results of any audit; (iv) reviewing on a periodic basis a formal written statement from the independent auditors with respect to their independence, discussing with the independent auditors any relationships or services disclosed in the statement that may impact the objectivity and independence of the Trust’s independent auditors and recommending that the Board take appropriate action in response thereto to satisfy itself of the auditor’s independence; and (v) considering the comments of the independent auditors and management’s responses thereto with respect to the quality and adequacy of the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and internal controls. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter. The Audit Committee is responsible for seeking and reviewing nominee candidates for consideration as Independent Trustees as is from time to time considered necessary or appropriate. The Audit Committee generally will not consider shareholder nominees. The Audit Committee is also responsible for reviewing and setting Independent Trustee compensation from time to time when considered necessary or appropriate.
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Compensation
Each Trustee who is not affiliated with the Trust or an investment adviser to any series of the Trust (each an “Independent Trustee”) receives a yearly fee of $10,000 paid by the Trust within 10 days of each calendar quarter for his service as a Trustee of the Board and for serving in his respective capacity as Chair of the Audit Committee, Nomination and Governance Committee, as well as reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred for attending regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings.
None of the executive officers or interested Trustees receive compensation from the Trust.
The table below details the amount of compensation the Trustees will receive from the Funds for their initial fiscal year. Each Independent Trustee is expected to attend all quarterly meetings during the period. The Trust does not have a bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plan.
| Name and Position | Simplify Volatility Premium ETF | Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF | Simplify Gold Strategy ETF | Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF | Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Funds Expenses | Annual Benefits Upon Retirement | Total Compensation From Trust and Fund Complex* Paid to Trustees |
| Craig Enders | $555 | $555 | $555 | $555 | $0 | $0 | $10,000 |
| Christopher Caltagirone | $555 | $555 | $555 | $555 | $0 | $0 | $10,000 |
| Zung Nguyen | $555 | $555 | $555 | $555 | $0 | $0 | $10,000 |
| * | There are currently numerous series comprising the Trust. The term “Fund Complex” refers only to the Funds, and not to any other series of the Trust. |
Management and Trustee Ownership
As of the date of the SAI, the Trustees and officers, as a group, owned no shares of a Fund or any of the Fund Complex’s outstanding shares.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Other Distributions, and Taxes.”
General Policies
The Funds expect to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends at least semi-annually. Each Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on a Fund.
Dividend Distributions
Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.
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Dividend Reinvestment Service
The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of a Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the same Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares of a Fund will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS
A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledged the existence of control. As of the date of this SAI, no person owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a Fund.
The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes. Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants.
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Investment Adviser and Advisory Agreement
Simplify Asset Management Inc., located at 54 W 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, serves as the Funds’ investment adviser pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and the Adviser (the “Management Agreement”). The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Funds, including overseeing audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) and investment management and investment advisory services (provided pursuant to the Management Agreement) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Funds bear other expenses which are not covered under the Management Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by a Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, certain custody expenses and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).
The Funds pays the Adviser a unitary fee (“Management Fee”) under the Management Agreement in return for providing investment management, investment advisory and supervisory services and for being obligated to pay certain Fund expenses discussed above. The Adviser is paid a monthly Management Fee at an annual rate of 0.50% of the average daily net assets of the Funds. Under a unitary fee structure, the Adviser is responsible for paying substantially all the expenses of the Funds, excluding payments under the Funds’ 12b-1 plan (if any), interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage fees, costs of holding shareholder meetings, litigation, indemnification and extraordinary expenses.
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The Management Agreement is in effect for two (2) years initially and shall continue from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) a vote of the majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (b) the majority vote of either all of the Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Funds. The Management Agreement may be terminated without penalty on 60 days written notice by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by the Adviser, or by holders of a majority of each Fund’s outstanding shares (with respect to that Fund). The Management Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
The Management Agreement was approved by the Board of the Trust, including by a majority of the Independent Trustees, at a meeting held on April 20, 2021. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement with respect to the Funds, will be available in the Funds’ first annual report to shareholders dated June 30, 2021.
Codes of Ethics
The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor have each adopted codes of ethics (each a “Code”) under Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that governs the personal securities transactions of their board members, officers and employees who may have access to current trading information of the Trust. Under the Codes, the Trustees are permitted to invest in securities that may also be purchased by the Funds.
In addition, the Trust has adopted a code of ethics (the “Trust Code”), which applies only to the Trust’s executive officers to ensure that these officers promote professional conduct in the practice of corporate governance and management. The purpose behind these guidelines is to promote (i) honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships; (ii) full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Trust files with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Funds; (iii) compliance with applicable governmental laws, rule and regulations; (iv) the prompt internal reporting of violations of the Trust Code to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Trust Code; and (v) accountability for adherence to the Trust Code.
Proxy Voting Policies
The Board has adopted Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (“Policies”) on behalf of the Trust, which delegate the responsibility for voting proxies to the Adviser or its designee, subject to the Board’s continuing oversight. The Policies require that the Adviser or its designee vote proxies received in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Funds and shareholders. The Policies also require the Adviser or its designee to present to the Board, at least annually, the Adviser’s Proxy Policies, or the proxy policies of the Adviser’s designee, and a record of each proxy voted by the Adviser or its designee on behalf of the Funds, including a report on the resolution of all proxies identified by the Adviser as involving a conflict of interest.
Where a proxy proposal raises a material conflict between the Adviser’s interests and a Fund’s interests, the Adviser will resolve the conflict by voting in accordance with the policy guidelines or at the client’s directive using the recommendation of an independent third party. If the third party’s recommendations are not received in a timely fashion, the Adviser will abstain from voting the securities held by that client’s account. A copy of the Adviser’s proxy voting policies is attached hereto as Appendix A.
More information. Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds during the most recent 12-month period ending June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling the Funds at 1 (855) 772-8488; and (2) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Funds’ proxy voting policies and procedures are also available by calling 877.658.9473 and will be sent within three business days of receipt of a request.
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THE DISTRIBUTOR
Foreside Financial Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), serves as the principal underwriter and national distributor for the shares of the Funds pursuant to an ETF Distribution Agreement with the Trust (the “Distribution Agreement”). The Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and each state’s securities laws and is a member of FINRA. The offerings of the Shares are continuous and the Distributor acts as an agent for the Trust. The Distributor will deliver a Prospectus to persons purchasing Shares in Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor has no role in determining the investments or investment policies of a Fund.
The Distribution Agreement provides that, unless sooner terminated, it will continue in effect for two years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year, subject to annual approval by (a) the Board or a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares, and (b) by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Distribution Agreement or the Trust’s distribution plan or interested persons of the Trust or of the Distributor (“Qualified Trustees”) by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
The Distribution Agreement may at any time be terminated, without penalty by the Trust, by vote of a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the other party. The Distribution Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment.
The Funds do not pay the Distributor any fees under the Distribution Agreement. However, the Adviser pays an annual fee to the Distributor plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Distributor in connection with activities performed for the Funds, including, without limitation, printing and distribution of prospectuses and shareholder reports, out of its own resources.
Rule 12b-1 Plans
The Trust, with respect to each Fund, has adopted the Trust’s Master Distribution and Shareholder Servicing Plans pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Plan”) for Shares pursuant to which the Funds are authorized to pay the Distributor, as compensation for Distributor’s account maintenance services under the Plans. The Board has approved a distribution and shareholder servicing fee at the rate of up to 0.25% of a Fund’s average daily net assets. Such fees are to be paid by the Funds monthly, or at such other intervals as the Board shall determine. Such fees shall be based upon each Fund’s average daily net assets during the preceding month, and shall be calculated and accrued daily. The Funds may pay fees to the Distributor at a lesser rate, as agreed upon by the Board of Trustees and the Distributor. The Plan authorizes payments to the Distributor as compensation for providing account maintenance services to Fund shareholders, including arranging for certain securities dealers or brokers, administrators and others (“Recipients”) to provide these services and paying compensation for these services. The Funds will bear their own costs of distribution with respect to its shares. The Plan was adopted in order to permit the implementation of a Fund’s method of distribution. No fees are currently paid by the Funds under the Plan, and there are no current plans to impose such fees. In the event such fees were to be charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Funds.
The services to be provided by Recipients may include, but are not limited to, the following: assistance in the offering and sale of Fund shares and in other aspects of the marketing of the shares to clients or prospective clients of the respective recipients; answering routine inquiries concerning the Funds; assisting in the establishment and maintenance of accounts or sub-accounts in the Funds and in processing purchase and redemption transactions; making the Funds’ investment plan and shareholder services available; and providing such other information and services to investors in shares of the Funds as the Distributor or the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, may reasonably request. The distribution services shall also include any advertising and marketing services provided by or arranged by the Distributor with respect to the Funds.
The Distributor is required to provide a written report, at least quarterly to the Board of Trustees, specifying in reasonable detail the amounts expended pursuant to the Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. Further, the Distributor will inform the Board of any Rule 12b-1 fees to be paid by the Distributor to Recipients.
The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of the Distributor’s compensation to be paid by each Fund, unless such amendment is approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act). All material amendments must be approved by a majority of the Board of Trustees and a majority of the Rule 12b-1 Trustees by votes cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Plans. During the term of the Plans, the selection and nomination of non-interested Trustees of the Trust will be committed to the discretion of current non-interested Trustees. The Distributor will preserve copies of the Plans, any related agreements, and all reports, for a period of not less than six years from the date of such document and for at least the first two years in an easily accessible place.
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Any agreement related to a Plan will be in writing and provide that: (a) it may be terminated by the Trust or the Funds at any time upon sixty days written notice, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the respective Rule 12b-1 Trustees, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust or the Funds; (b) it will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act); and (c) it will continue in effect for a period of more than one year from the date of its execution or adoption only so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a majority of the Board and a majority of the Rule 12b-1 Trustees by votes cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such agreement.
Securities Lending
For the purpose of achieving income, a Fund may lend its portfolio securities, provided (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. Government securities or cash or cash equivalents (cash, U.S. Government securities, negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit) maintained on a daily mark-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned, (2) a Fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of securities loaned, (3) a Fund will receive any interest or dividends received on the loaned securities, and (4) the aggregate value of the securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of a Fund.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
Paul Kim, Michael Green, Shailesh Gupta, David Berns, and Harvey Bassman serve as the portfolio managers of the Funds.
As of March 31, 2021, the portfolio managers are responsible for the portfolio management of the following types of accounts in addition to the Funds:
Paul Kim
Total Other Accounts |
Total Number of Accounts by Account Type | Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee | Total Assets By Account Type Subject
to a Performance Fee |
| Registered Investment Companies | 10 | 260 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
David Berns
Total Other Accounts |
Total Number of Accounts by Account Type | Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee | Total Assets By Account Type Subject
to a Performance Fee |
| Registered Investment Companies | 10 | 260 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Harley Bassman
|
Total Other Accounts |
Total Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type
Subject to a Performance Fee |
| Registered Investment Companies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shailesh Gupta
Total Other Accounts |
Total Number of Accounts by Account Type | Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee | Total Assets By Account Type Subject
to a Performance Fee |
| Registered Investment Companies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Michael Green
| Total
Other Accounts By Type |
Total Number of Accounts by Account Type | Total
Assets By Account Type (in millions) |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee | Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
| Registered Investment Companies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Conflicts of Interest
As a general matter, certain conflicts of interest may arise in connection with a portfolio manager’s management of a Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of other accounts for which the portfolio manager is responsible, on the other. For example, it is possible that the various accounts managed could have different investment strategies that, at times, might conflict with one another to the possible detriment of a Fund. Alternatively, to the extent that the same investment opportunities might be desirable for more than one account, possible conflicts could arise in determining how to allocate them. Other potential conflicts might include conflicts created by specific portfolio manager compensation arrangements, and conflicts relating to selection of brokers or dealers to execute a Fund’s portfolio trades and/or specific uses of commissions from a Fund’s portfolio trades (for example, research, or “soft dollars”, if any). The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures and has structured the portfolio managers’ compensation in a manner reasonably designed to safeguard the Funds from being negatively affected as a result of any such potential conflicts.
Compensation
Mr. Kim, Mr. Gupta, Mr. Berns, Mr. Green and Mr. Bassman are compensated through a salary and equity participation in the Adviser.
Ownership of Securities
The following table shows the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the portfolio managers in each Fund as the date of this SAI.
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| Name of Portfolio Manager | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Simplify Gold Strategy ETF | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF |
| Paul Kim | None | None | None | None |
| David Berns | None | None | None | None |
| Harley Bassman | None | None | None | None |
| Shailesh Gupta | None | None | None | None |
| Michael Green | None | None | None | None |
ALLOCATION OF PORTFOLIO BROKERAGE
Specific decisions to purchase or sell securities for the Funds are made by the portfolio managers who are employees of the Adviser. The Adviser are authorized by the Trustees to allocate the orders placed by them on behalf of the Funds to brokers or dealers who may, but need not, provide research or statistical material or other services to the Funds or the Adviser for the Funds’ use. Such allocation is to be in such amounts and proportions as the Adviser may determine.
In selecting a broker or dealer to execute each particular transaction, the Adviser will take the following into consideration:
| · | the best net price available; |
| · | the reliability, integrity and financial condition of the broker or dealer; |
| · | the size of and difficulty in executing the order; and |
| · | the value of the expected contribution of the broker or dealer to the investment performance of the Funds on a continuing basis. |
Brokers or dealers executing a portfolio transaction on behalf of the Funds may receive a commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for executing the transaction if the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided to the Funds. In allocating portfolio brokerage, the Adviser may select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage, research and other services to other accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion. Some of the services received as the result of Fund transactions may primarily benefit accounts other than the Funds, while services received as the result of portfolio transactions effected on behalf of those other accounts may primarily benefit the Funds.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Each Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by a Fund during the fiscal year. The calculation excludes from both the numerator and the denominator securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less. High portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, which will be borne directly by a Fund. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all of a Fund’s portfolio securities were replaced once within a one-year period.
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
Fund Administration
Bank of New York Mellon (the “Administrator”), which has its principal office at 240 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10286, and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds.
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Pursuant to a Fund Services Agreement with the Funds, the Administrator provides administrative services to the Funds, subject to the supervision of the Board. The Administrator may provide persons to serve as officers of the Funds. Such officers may be directors, officers or employees of the Administrator or its affiliates.
The Fund Services Agreement is dated July 14, 2020. The agreement remained in effect for two years from the effective date of the agreement, and will remain in effect subject to annual approval of the Board for one-year periods thereafter. The agreement is terminable by the Board or the Administrator on ninety days’ written notice and may be assigned provided the non-assigning party provides prior written consent. This agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Administrator or reckless disregard of its obligations thereunder, the Administrator shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.
Under the Fund Services Agreement, the Administrator provides facilitating administrative services, including: (i) providing services of persons competent to perform such administrative and clerical functions as are necessary to provide effective administration of the Funds; (ii) facilitating the performance of administrative and professional services to the Fund by others, including the Custodian; (iii) preparing, but not paying for, the periodic updating of the Funds’ Registration Statement, Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information in conjunction with Fund counsel, including the printing of such documents for the purpose of filings with the SEC and state securities administrators, and preparing reports to the Fund’s shareholders and the SEC; (iv) preparing in conjunction with Fund counsel, but not paying for, all filings under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of such states or countries as are designated by the Distributor, which may be required to register or qualify, or continue the registration or qualification, of a Fund and/or its shares under such laws; (v) preparing notices and agendas for meetings of the Board and minutes of such meetings in all matters required by the 1940 Act to be acted upon by the Board; and (vi) monitoring daily and periodic compliance with respect to all requirements and restrictions of the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Prospectus.
The Administrator also provides the Funds with accounting services, including: (i) daily computation of net asset value; (ii) maintenance of security ledgers and books and records as required by the 1940 Act; (iii) production of the Funds’ listing of portfolio securities and general ledger reports; (iv) reconciliation of accounting records; (v) calculation of yield and total return for the Funds; (vi) maintenance of certain books and records described in Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, and reconciliation of account information and balances among the Custodian and Adviser; and (vii) monitoring and evaluation of daily income and expense accruals, and sales and redemptions of shares of the Funds.
For administrative services rendered to the Funds under the agreement, the Funds pay the Administrator the greater of an annual minimum fee or an asset-based fee, which scales downward based upon net assets. For the fund accounting services rendered to the Funds under the Agreement, the Funds pay the Administrator the greater of an annual minimum fee or an asset-based fee, which scales downward based upon net assets. The Funds also pay the Administrator for any out-of-pocket expenses.
Transfer Agent
Bank of New York Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10286, acts as transfer, dividend disbursing, and shareholder servicing agent for a Fund pursuant to written agreement with Fund (the “Transfer Agent”). Under the agreement, the Transfer Agent is responsible for administering and performing transfer agent functions, dividend distribution, shareholder administration, and maintaining necessary records in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.
Custodian
Bank of New York Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10286 (the “Custodian”), serves as the custodian of the Funds’ assets pursuant to a Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement by and between the Custodian and the Trust on behalf of the Funds. The Custodian’s responsibilities include safeguarding and controlling the Funds’ cash and securities, handling the receipt and delivery of securities, and collecting interest and dividends on the Funds’ investments. Pursuant to the Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement, the Custodian also maintains original entry documents and books of record and general ledgers; posts cash receipts and disbursements; and records purchases and sales based upon communications from the Adviser. The Funds may employ foreign sub-custodians that are approved by the Board to hold foreign assets.
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Compliance Officer
Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC (“Foreside”), Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101, provides a Chief Compliance Officer to the Trust as well as related compliance services pursuant to a consulting agreement between Foreside and the Trust. Foreside’s compliance services consist primarily of reviewing and assessing the policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers pertaining to compliance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. For the compliance services rendered to the Funds, the Trust pays Foreside a reoccurring fund fee and a fee per each fund. The Funds also pay Foreside for any out-of-pocket expenses.
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES
Each share of beneficial interest of the Trust has one vote in the election of Trustees. Cumulative voting is not authorized for the Trust. This means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect 100% of the Trustees if they choose to do so, and, in that event, the holders of the remaining shares will be unable to elect any Trustees.
Shareholders of the current series of the Trust and any other future series of the Trust will vote in the aggregate and not by series except as otherwise required by law or when the Board determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interest of the shareholders of a particular series or classes. Matters such as election of Trustees are not subject to separate voting requirements and may be acted upon by shareholders of the Trust voting without regard to series.
The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest. Each share has equal, dividend, distribution and liquidation rights. There are no conversion or preemptive rights applicable to any shares of a Fund. All shares issued are fully paid and non-assessable.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM
The Trust has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the “Program”) as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA PATRIOT Act”). To ensure compliance with this law, the Trust’s Program provides for the development of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of anti-money laundering compliance officers, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program. The Trust’s secretary serves as its Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.
Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to, determining that the Funds’ Distributor and Transfer Agent have established proper anti-money laundering procedures, reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity and a providing a complete and thorough review of all new opening account applications. The Trust will not transact business with any person or entity whose identity cannot be adequately verified under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
As a result of the Program, the Trust may be required to “freeze” the account of a shareholder if the shareholder appears to be involved in suspicious activity or if certain account information matches information on government lists of known terrorists or other suspicious persons, or the Trust may be required to transfer the account or proceeds of the account to a governmental agency.
PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF SHARES
Calculation of Share Price
As indicated in the Prospectus under the heading “How Shares are Priced,” NAV of a Fund’s shares is determined by dividing the total value of a Fund’s portfolio investments and other assets, less any liabilities, by the total number of shares outstanding of a Fund.
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Generally, the Funds’ domestic securities (including underlying ETFs which hold portfolio securities primarily listed on foreign (non-U.S.) exchanges) are valued each day at the last quoted sales price on each security’s primary exchange. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on such exchange. Securities primarily traded in the NASDAQ National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined in good faith by the Funds’ fair value committee in accordance with procedures approved by the Board and as further described below. Securities that are not traded or dealt in any securities exchange (whether domestic or foreign) and for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available generally shall be valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask price on such over-the- counter market.
Certain securities or investments for which daily market quotes are not readily available may be valued, pursuant to guidelines established by the Board, with reference to other securities or indices. Debt securities not traded on an exchange may be valued at prices supplied by a pricing agent(s) based on broker or dealer supplied valuations or matrix pricing, a method of valuing securities by reference to the value of other securities with similar characteristics, such as rating, interest rate and maturity. Short-term investments having a maturity of 60 days or less may be generally valued at amortized cost when it approximated fair value.
Exchange traded options are valued at the last quoted sales price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on the exchange on which such options are traded. Futures and options on futures are valued at the settlement price determined by the exchange, or, if no settlement price is available, at the last sale price as of the close of business prior to when the Funds calculate NAV. Other securities for which market quotes are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or persons acting at their direction. Swap agreements and other derivatives are generally valued daily depending on the type of instrument and reference assets based upon market prices, the mean between bid and asked prices quotations from market makers or by a pricing service or other parties in accordance with the valuation procedures approved by the Board.
Under certain circumstances, a Fund may use an independent pricing service to calculate the fair market value of foreign equity securities on a daily basis by applying valuation factors to the last sale price or the mean price as noted above. The fair market values supplied by the independent pricing service will generally reflect market trading that occurs after the close of the applicable foreign markets of comparable securities or the value of other instruments that have a strong correlation to the fair-valued securities. The independent pricing service will also take into account the current relevant currency exchange rate. A security that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than actual market quotations or the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures. Because foreign securities may trade on days when Shares are not priced, the value of securities held by the Funds can change on days when Shares cannot be redeemed or purchased. In the event that a foreign security’s market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable (for reasons other than because the foreign exchange on which it trades closed before the Funds’ calculation of NAV), the security will be valued at its fair market value as determined in good faith by the Funds’ fair value committee in accordance with procedures approved by the Board as discussed below. Without fair valuation, it is possible that short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of the Funds’ portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that it will prevent dilution of the Funds’ NAV by short-term traders. In addition, because the Funds may invest in underlying ETFs which hold portfolio securities primarily listed on foreign (non-U.S.) exchanges, and these exchanges may trade on weekends or other days when the underlying ETFs do not price their shares, the value of these portfolio securities may change on days when you may not be able to buy or sell Shares.
Investments initially valued in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted to U.S. dollars using exchange rates obtained from pricing services or other parties in accordance with the valuation procedures approved by the Board. As a result, the NAV of the Shares may be affected by changes in the value of currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The value of securities traded in markets outside the United States or denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar may be affected significantly on a day that the Exchange is closed and an investor is not able to purchase, redeem or exchange Shares.
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Shares are valued at the close of regular trading on the Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) (the “Exchange Close”) on each day that the Exchange is open. For purposes of calculating the NAV, a Fund normally use pricing data for domestic equity securities received shortly after the Exchange Close and does not normally take into account trading, clearances or settlements that take place after the Exchange Close. Domestic fixed income and foreign securities are normally priced using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for those securities. Information that becomes known to the Funds or its agents after the NAV has been calculated on a particular day will not generally be used to retroactively adjust the price of the security or the NAV determined earlier that day.
When market quotations are insufficient or not readily available, the Funds may value securities at fair value or estimate their value as determined in good faith by the Board or its designees, pursuant to procedures approved by the Board. Fair valuation may also be used by the Board if extraordinary events occur after the close of the relevant market but prior to the Exchange Close.
Creation Units
Each Fund sells and redeems Shares in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt of an order in proper form on any Business Day. A “Business Day” is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Exchange observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
A Creation Unit is an aggregation of 25,000 Shares. The Board may declare a split or a consolidation in the number of Shares outstanding of a Fund or Trust and make a corresponding change in the number of Shares in a Creation Unit.
Authorized Participants
Only Authorized Participants that have entered into agreements with the Trust or the Distributor may purchase or redeem Creation Units. In order to be an Authorized Participant, a firm must be either a broker-dealer or other participant (“Participating Party”) in the Continuous Net Settlement System (“Clearing Process”) of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or a participant in DTC with access to the DTC system (“DTC Participant”), and you must execute an agreement (“Participant Agreement”) with the Distributor that governs transactions in each Fund’s Creation Units.
Investors who are not Authorized Participants but want to transact in Creation Units may contact the Distributor for the names of Authorized Participants. An Authorized Participant may require investors to enter into a separate agreement to transact through it for Creation Units and may require orders for purchases of shares placed with it to be in a particular form. Investors transacting through a broker that is not itself an Authorized Participant and therefore must still transact through an Authorized Participant may incur additional charges. There are expected to be a limited number of Authorized Participants at any one time.
Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor. Market disruptions and telephone or other communication failures may impede the transmission of orders.
Transaction Fees
A fixed fee payable to the Custodian is imposed on each creation and redemption transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units involved in the transaction (“Fixed Fee”). Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units for cash or involving cash-in-lieu (as defined below) are required to pay an additional variable charge to compensate the Funds and its ongoing shareholders for brokerage and market impact expenses relating to Creation Unit transactions (“Variable Charge,” and together with the Fixed Fee, the “Transaction Fees”). With the approval of the Board, the Adviser may waive or adjust the Transaction Fees, including the Fixed Fee and/or Variable Charge (shown in the table below), from time to time. In such cases, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Funds for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were purchased by a Fund and the cash-in-lieu amount, applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes. In addition, purchasers of Creation Units are responsible for the costs of transferring the deposit securities to the account of a Fund.
Investors who use the services of a broker, or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. The Transaction Fees for the Funds are listed in the table below.
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| ETFs | Fee for In-Kind and Cash Purchases | Maximum Additional Variable Charge for Cash Purchases* |
| Simplify Volatility Premium ETF | $500 | 3% |
| Simplify Commodity Strategy ETF | $500 | 3% |
| Simplify Gold Strategy ETF | $500 | 3% |
| Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF | $500 | 3% |
| * | As a percentage of the amount invested. |
The Clearing Process
Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a Participating Party using the NSCC system are referred to as transactions “through the Clearing Process.” Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a DTC Participant using the DTC system are referred to as transactions “outside the Clearing Process.” The Clearing Process is an enhanced clearing process that is available only for certain securities and only to DTC participants that are also participants in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC. In-kind (portions of) purchase orders not subject to the Clearing Process will go through a manual clearing process run by DTC. Portfolio Deposits that include government securities must be delivered through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system (“Federal Reserve System”). Fund Deposits that include cash may be delivered through the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System. In-kind deposits of securities for orders outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through the Federal Reserve System (for government securities) or through DTC (for corporate securities).
Foreign Securities
Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Funds, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Funds, or to purchase or sell shares of the Funds on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Funds could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
Purchasing Creation Units
Portfolio Deposit
The consideration for a Creation Unit generally consists of the deposit securities and a Cash Component. Together, the deposit securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Portfolio Deposit.” The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the deposit securities. Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit of a Fund and (y) the market value of the deposit securities. If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will pay the Cash Component to a Fund. If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from a Fund.
On each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Adviser through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each deposit security in the current Portfolio Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for a Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit. The deposit securities announced are applicable to purchases of Creation Units until the next announcement of deposit securities.
The deposit securities may change and as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events of the Underlying Index are reflected from time to time by the Adviser in a Fund’s portfolio. The deposit securities may also change in response to the rebalancing and/or constitution of the Underlying Index. These adjustments will reflect changes known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Portfolio Deposit.
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Payment of any stamp duty or the like shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant purchasing a Creation Unit. The Authorized Participant must ensure that all deposit securities properly denote change in beneficial ownership.
Custom Orders and Cash-in-Lieu
Each Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (“cash-in-lieu”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any deposit security. A Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a deposit security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process. Similarly, a Fund may permit or require cash in lieu of deposit securities when, for example, the Authorized Participant or its underlying investor is restricted under U.S. or local securities laws or policies from transacting in one or more deposit securities. The Funds will comply with the federal securities laws in accepting deposit securities including that the deposit securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. All orders involving cash-in-lieu, as well as certain other types of orders, are considered to be “Custom Orders.”
Purchase Orders
To order a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable purchase order to the Distributor.
Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders
An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable purchase order no later than the earlier of (i) 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or (ii) the closing time of the bond markets and/or the trading session on the Exchange, on any Business Day in order to receive that Business Day’s NAV (“Cut-off Time”). The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier. The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” An order to create Creation Units is deemed received on a Business Day if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. Persons placing or effectuating custom orders and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve Bank wire system, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the “Settlement Date,” which is generally the Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date (“T+1”) for cash and the third Business Day following the Transmittal Date for securities (“T+3”).
Orders Using the Clearing Process
If available, (portions of) orders may be settled through the Clearing Process. In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits, on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Portfolio Deposit to a Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System.
Orders Outside the Clearing Process
If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Portfolio Deposits will be made outside the Clearing Process. Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Units will be effected through DTC. The Portfolio Deposit transfer must be ordered by the DTC Participant on the Transmittal Date in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of deposit securities (whether standard or custom) through DTC to a Fund account by 11:00 a.m., Eastern time, on T+1. The Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee, must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve System in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. If the Custodian does not receive both the deposit securities and the cash by the appointed time, the order may be canceled. A canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day but must conform to that Business Day’s Portfolio Deposit. Authorized Participants that submit a canceled order will be liable to a Fund for any losses incurred by a Fund in connection therewith.
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Orders involving foreign deposit securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process. Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable purchase order, the Distributor will notify the Adviser and the Custodian of such order. The Custodian, who will have caused the appropriate local sub-custodian(s) of a Fund to maintain an account into which an Authorized Participant may deliver deposit securities (or cash-in-lieu), with adjustments determined by a Fund, will then provide information of the order to such local sub-custodian(s). The ordering Authorized Participant will then deliver the deposit securities (and any cash-in-lieu) to a Fund’s account at the applicable local sub-custodian. The Authorized Participant must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to a Fund, immediately available or same day funds in U.S. dollars estimated by a Fund to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component and Transaction Fee. When a relevant local market is closed due to local market holidays, the local market settlement process will not commence until the end of the local holiday period. Settlement must occur by 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the contractual settlement date.
Acceptance of Purchase Order
All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the deposit securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by a Fund. A Fund’s determination shall be final and binding.
Each Fund reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke acceptance of a purchase order transmitted to it by the Distributor if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of a Fund; (c) the deposit securities delivered do not conform to the deposit securities for the applicable date; (d) acceptance of the deposit securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to a Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust, Fund or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust, Fund or the rights of beneficial owners; or (g) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it for all practical purposes impossible to process purchase orders. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God; public service or utility problems resulting in telephone, telecopy or computer failures; fires, floods or extreme weather conditions; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other informational systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the Adviser, the Custodian, a sub-custodian or any other participant in the creation process; and similar extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify an Authorized Participant of its rejection of the order. The Funds, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Portfolio Deposits, and they shall not incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.
Issuance of a Creation Unit
Once a Fund has accepted an order, upon next determination of a Fund’s NAV, a Fund will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such NAV. The Distributor will transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the Authorized Participant that placed the order.
Except as provided below, a Creation Unit will not be issued until a Fund obtains good title to the deposit securities and the Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee. The delivery of Creation Units will generally occur no later than T+3.
In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.
With respect to orders involving foreign deposit securities, when the applicable local sub-custodian(s) have confirmed to the Custodian that the deposit securities (or cash-in-lieu) have been delivered to a Fund’s account at the applicable local sub-custodian(s), the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and a Fund will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Unit. While, as stated above, Creation Units are generally delivered on T+3, a Fund may settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than T+3 in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances.
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A Fund may issue a Creation Unit prior to receiving good title to the deposit securities, under the following circumstances. Pursuant to the applicable Participant Agreement, a Fund may issue a Creation Unit notwithstanding that (certain) deposit securities have not been delivered, in reliance on an undertaking by the relevant Authorized Participant to deliver the missing deposit securities as soon as possible, which undertaking is secured by such Authorized Participant’s delivery to and maintenance with the Custodian of collateral having a value equal to at least 115% of the value of the missing deposit securities (“Collateral”), as adjusted by time to time by the Adviser. Such Collateral will have a value greater than the NAV of the Creation Unit on the date the order is placed. Such Collateral must be delivered no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. The only Collateral that is acceptable to a Fund is cash in U.S. Dollars.
While (certain) deposit securities remain undelivered, the Collateral shall at all times have a value equal to at least 115% (as adjusted by the Adviser) of the daily marked-to-market value of the missing deposit securities. At any time, a Fund may use the Collateral to purchase the missing securities, and the Authorized Participant will be liable to a Fund for any costs incurred thereby or losses resulting therefrom, whether or not they exceed the amount of the Collateral, including any Transaction Fee, any amount by which the purchase price of the missing deposit securities exceeds the market value of such securities on the Transmittal Date, brokerage and other transaction costs. The Trust will return any unused Collateral once all of the missing securities have been received by a Fund. More information regarding a Fund’s current procedures for collateralization is available from the Distributor.
Cash Purchase Method
When cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for a Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases. In the case of a cash purchase, the investor must pay the cash equivalent of the Portfolio Deposit. In addition, cash purchases will be subject to Transaction Fees, as described above.
Redeeming a Creation Unit
Redemption Basket
The consideration received in connection with the redemption of a Creation Unit generally consists of an in-kind basket of designated securities (“Redemption Securities”) and a Cash Component. Together, the Redemption Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Redemption Basket.”
There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity in Shares in the secondary market to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. In addition, investors may incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a Creation Unit.
The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the Redemption Securities. Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit of a Fund and (y) the market value of the Redemption Securities. If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from a Fund. If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will pay the Cash Component to a Fund.
If the Redemption Securities on a Business Day are different from the deposit securities, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Adviser through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each Redemption Security in the current Redemption Basket (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for a Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit. If the Redemption Securities on a Business Day are different from the deposit securities, all redemption requests that day will be processed outside the Clearing Process.
The Redemption Securities may change as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events of the Underlying Index are reflected from time to time by the Adviser in a Fund’s portfolio. The Redemption Securities may also change in response to the rebalancing and/or reconstitution of the Underlying Index. These adjustments will reflect changes known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Redemption Basket.
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The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed: (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares or determination of the ETF’s NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstances as permitted by the SEC, including as described below.
Custom Redemptions and Cash-in-Lieu
Each Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of cash-in-lieu to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Redemption Security. Each Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a Redemption Security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process. Similarly, each Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu of Redemption Securities when, for example, the Authorized Participant or its underlying investor is restricted under U.S. or local securities law or policies from transacting in one or more Redemption Securities. Each Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in satisfying redemptions with Redemption Securities, including that the Redemption Securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. All redemption requests involving cash-in-lieu are considered to be “Custom Redemptions.”
Redemption Requests
To redeem a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption request to the Distributor.
An Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to a Fund that it or, if applicable, the investor on whose behalf it is acting, (i) owns outright or has full legal authority and legal beneficial right to tender for redemption the Creation Unit to be redeemed and can receive the entire proceeds of the redemption, and (ii) all of the Shares that are in the Creation Unit to be redeemed have not been borrowed, loaned or pledged to another party nor are they the subject of a repurchase agreement, securities lending agreement or such other arrangement that would preclude the delivery of such Shares to a Fund. Each Fund reserves the absolute right, in its sole discretion, to verify these representations, but will typically require verification in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in a Fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of the requested representations, the redemption request will not be considered to be in proper form and may be rejected by a Fund.
Timing of Submission of Redemption Requests
An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption order no later than the Cut-off Time. The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier. The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” A redemption request is deemed received if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. Persons placing or effectuating Custom Redemptions and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve System, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the Settlement Date, as defined above.
Requests Using the Clearing Process
If available, (portions of) redemption requests may be settled through the Clearing Process. In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the redemption. Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Creation Unit(s) to a Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System, as described above.
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Requests Outside the Clearing Process
If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Redemption Baskets will be delivered outside the Clearing Process. Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the redemption will be effected through DTC. The Authorized Participant must transfer or cause to be transferred the Creation Unit(s) of shares being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be delivered through DTC to the Custodian by 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on received T+1. In addition, the Cash Component must be received by the Custodian by 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. If the Custodian does not receive the Creation Unit(s) and Cash Component by the appointed times on T+1, the redemption will be rejected, except in the circumstances described below. A rejected redemption request may be resubmitted the following Business Day.
Orders involving foreign Redemption Securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process. Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable redemption request, the Distributor will notify the Adviser and the Custodian. The Custodian will then provide information of the redemption to a Fund’s local sub-custodian(s). The redeeming Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf is acting, will have established appropriate arrangements with a broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which the Redemption Securities are customarily traded and to which such Redemption Securities (and any cash-in-lieu) can be delivered from a Fund’s accounts at the applicable local sub-custodian(s).
Acceptance of Redemption Requests
All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the deposit securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust. The Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.
Delivery of Redemption Basket
Once a Fund has accepted a redemption request, upon next determination of a Fund’s NAV, a Fund will confirm the issuance of a Redemption Basket, against receipt of the Creation Unit(s) at such NAV, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee. A Creation Unit tendered for redemption and the payment of the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee will be effected through DTC. The Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf it is acting, will be recorded on the book-entry system of DTC.
The Redemption Basket will generally be delivered to the redeeming Authorized Participant within T+3. Except under the circumstances described below, however, a Redemption Basket generally will not be issued until the Creation Unit(s) are delivered to a Fund, along with the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee.
In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.
With respect to orders involving foreign Redemption Securities, a Fund may settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than T+3 in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances. When a relevant local market is closed due to local market holidays, the local market settlement process will not commence until the end of the local holiday period.
Cash Redemption Method
When cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for a Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions. In the case of a cash redemption, the investor will receive the cash equivalent of the Redemption Basket minus any Transaction Fees, as described above.
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TAX STATUS
The following discussion is general in nature and should not be regarded as an exhaustive presentation of all possible tax ramifications. All shareholders should consult a qualified tax advisor regarding their investment in a Fund.
Each Fund has qualified and intends to continue to qualify and has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Tax Code”), and intends to continue to so qualify, which requires compliance with certain requirements concerning the sources of its income, diversification of its assets, and the amount and timing of its distributions to shareholders. Such qualification does not involve supervision of management or investment practices or policies by any government agency or bureau. By so qualifying, a Fund should not be subject to federal income or excise tax on its net investment income or net capital gain, which are distributed to shareholders in accordance with the applicable timing requirements. Net investment income and net capital gain of a Fund will be computed in accordance with Section 852 of the Tax Code.
Net investment income is made up of dividends and interest less expenses. Net capital gain for a fiscal year is computed by taking into account any capital loss carryforward of a Fund. Capital losses incurred after January 31, 2011 may now be carried forward indefinitely and retain the character of the original loss. Under pre-enacted laws, capital losses could be carried forward to offset any capital gains for eight years, and carried forward as short-term capital, irrespective of the character of the original loss. Capital loss carry forwards are available to offset future realized capital gains. To the extent that these carry forwards are used to offset future capital gains it is probable that the amount offset will not be distributed to shareholders.
Each Fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income, any excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, and any excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses in accordance with the timing requirements imposed by the Tax Code and therefore should not be required to pay any federal income or excise taxes. Distributions of net capital gain, if any, will be made annually no later than December 31 of each year. Both types of distributions will be in shares of a Fund unless a shareholder elects to receive cash.
To be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Tax Code, a Fund must also (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, net income from certain publicly traded partnerships and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to the business of investing in such securities or currencies, and (b) diversify its holding so that, at the end of each fiscal quarter, (i) at least 50% of the market value of a Fund’s assets is represented by cash, U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies, and other securities (for purposes of this calculation, generally limited in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the market value of a Fund’s assets and 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer) and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities of (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) any one issuer, two or more issuers that a Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or the securities of certain publicly traded partnerships.
If a Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M in any fiscal year, it will be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. As such a Fund would be required to pay income taxes on its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, at the rates generally applicable to corporations. Shareholders of a Fund generally would not be liable for income tax on a Fund’s net investment income or net realized capital gains in their individual capacities. Distributions to shareholders, whether from a Fund’s net investment income or net realized capital gains, would be treated as taxable dividends to the extent of current or accumulated earnings and profits of a Fund.
Each Fund is subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on certain undistributed amounts of ordinary income and capital gain under a prescribed formula contained in Section 4982 of the Tax Code. The formula requires payment to shareholders during a calendar year of distributions representing at least 98% of a Fund’s ordinary income for the calendar year and at least 98.2% of its capital gain net income (i.e., the excess of its capital gains over capital losses) realized during the one-year period ending October 31 during such year plus 100% of any income that was neither distributed nor taxed to a Fund during the preceding calendar year. Under ordinary circumstances, each Fund expects to time its distributions so as to avoid liability for this tax.
The following discussion of tax consequences is for the general information of shareholders that are subject to tax. Shareholders that are IRAs or other qualified retirement plans are exempt from income taxation under the Tax Code.
Distributions of taxable net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
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Distributions of net capital gain (“capital gain dividends”) generally are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain; regardless of the length of time the shares of the Trust have been held by such shareholders.
Certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals and estates and trusts, are subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which should include dividends from a Fund and net gains from the disposition of shares of a Fund. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in a Fund.
Redemption of Fund shares by a shareholder will result in the recognition of taxable gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the shareholder’s tax basis in his or her Fund shares. Such gain or loss is treated as a capital gain or loss if the shares are held as capital assets. However, any loss realized upon the redemption of shares within six months from the date of their purchase will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as capital gain dividends during such six-month period. All or a portion of any loss realized upon the redemption of shares may be disallowed to the extent shares are purchased (including shares acquired by means of reinvested dividends) within 30 days before or after such redemption.
Distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain will be taxable as described above, whether received in additional cash or shares. Shareholders electing to receive distributions in the form of additional shares will have a cost basis for federal income tax purposes in each share so received equal to the net asset value of a share on the reinvestment date.
All distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain, whether received in shares or in cash, must be reported by each taxable shareholder on his or her federal income tax return. Dividends or distributions declared in October, November or December as of a record date in such a month, if any, will be deemed to have been received by shareholders on December 31, if paid during January of the following year. Redemptions of shares may result in tax consequences (gain or loss) to the shareholder and are also subject to these reporting requirements.
Under the Tax Code, a Fund will be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service all distributions of taxable income and capital gains as well as gross proceeds from the redemption or exchange of Fund shares, except in the case of certain exempt shareholders. Under the backup withholding provisions of Section 3406 of the Tax Code, distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain and proceeds from the redemption or exchange of the shares of a regulated investment company may be subject to withholding of federal income tax in the case of non-exempt shareholders who fail to furnish the investment company with their taxpayer identification numbers and with required certifications regarding their status under the federal income tax law, or if a Fund is notified by the IRS or a broker that withholding is required due to an incorrect TIN or a previous failure to report taxable interest or dividends. If the withholding provisions are applicable, any such distributions and proceeds, whether taken in cash or reinvested in additional shares, will be reduced by the amounts required to be withheld.
Options, Futures, Forward Contracts and Swap Agreements
To the extent such investments are permissible for a Fund, a Fund’s transactions in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts, straddles and foreign currencies will be subject to special tax rules (including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules), the effect of which may be to accelerate income to a Fund, defer losses to a Fund, cause adjustments in the holding periods of a Fund’s securities, convert long-term capital gains into short-term capital gains and convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders.
To the extent such investments are permissible, certain of a Fund’s hedging activities (including its transactions, if any, in foreign currencies or foreign currency-denominated instruments) are likely to produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If a Fund’s book income exceeds its taxable income, the distribution (if any) of such excess book income will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of a Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in the shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset. If a Fund’s book income is less than taxable income, a Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment.
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Passive Foreign Investment Companies
Investment by a Fund in certain passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”) could subject a Fund to a U.S. federal income tax (including interest charges) on distributions received from the company or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the company, which tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, a Fund may elect to treat a PFIC as a qualified electing fund (“QEF”), in which case a Fund will be required to include its share of the company’s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the company.
A Fund also may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in such holdings “to the market” as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of a Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed for a Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections, therefore, may require a Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect a Fund’s total return.
Foreign Currency Transactions
A Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt securities and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned.
Foreign Taxation
Income received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties and conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the value of a Fund’s total assets at the close of its taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, a Fund may be able to elect to “pass through” to a Fund’s shareholders the amount of eligible foreign income and similar taxes paid by a Fund. If this election is made, a shareholder generally subject to tax will be required to include in gross income (in addition to taxable dividends actually received) his or her pro rata share of the foreign taxes paid by a Fund, and may be entitled either to deduct (as an itemized deduction) his or her pro rata share of foreign taxes in computing his or her taxable income or to use it as a foreign tax credit against his or her U.S. federal income tax liability, subject to certain limitations. In particular, a shareholder must hold his or her shares (without protection from risk of loss) on the ex-dividend date and for at least 15 more days during the 30-day period surrounding the ex-dividend date to be eligible to claim a foreign tax credit with respect to a gain dividend. No deduction for foreign taxes may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. Each shareholder will be notified within 60 days after the close of a Fund’s taxable year whether the foreign taxes paid by a Fund will “pass through” for that year.
Generally, a credit for foreign taxes is subject to the limitation that it may not exceed the shareholder’s U.S. tax attributable to his or her total foreign source taxable income. For this purpose, if the pass-through election is made, the source of a Fund’s income will flow through to shareholders of a Fund. With respect to a Fund, gains from the sale of securities will be treated as derived from U.S. sources and certain currency fluctuation gains, including fluctuation gains from foreign currency-denominated debt securities, receivables and payables will be treated as ordinary income derived from U.S. sources. The limitation on the foreign tax credit is applied separately to foreign source passive income, and to certain other types of income. A shareholder may be unable to claim a credit for the full amount of his or her proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid by a Fund. The foreign tax credit can be used to offset only 90% of the revised alternative minimum tax imposed on corporations and individuals and foreign taxes generally are not deductible in computing alternative minimum taxable income.
Original Issue Discount and Pay-In-Kind Securities
Current federal tax law requires the holder of a U.S. Treasury or other fixed income zero coupon security to accrue as income each year a portion of the discount at which the security was purchased, even though the holder receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year. In addition, pay-in-kind securities will give rise to income, which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though a Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
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Some of the debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by a Fund may be treated as debt securities that are issued originally at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount (“OID”) is treated as interest income and is included in income over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. A portion of the OID includable in income with respect to certain high-yield corporate debt securities (including certain pay-in-kind securities) may be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Some of the debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by a Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having market discount. Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on such debt security. Market discount generally accrues in equal daily installments. The Funds may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt securities having market discount, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.
Some debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by a Fund may be treated as having acquisition discount, or OID in the case of certain types of debt securities. Generally, the Funds will be required to include the acquisition discount, or OID, in income over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. The Funds may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt securities having acquisition discount, or OID, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.
A Fund that holds the foregoing kinds of securities may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest a Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of a Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). A Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event a Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution, if any, than they would in the absence of such transactions.
Shareholders of a Fund may be subject to state and local taxes on distributions received from a Fund and on redemptions of the Shares.
A brief explanation of the form and character of the distribution accompany each distribution. In January of each year, the Funds issue to each shareholder a statement of the federal income tax status of all distributions.
Shareholders should consult their tax advisors about the application of federal, state and local and foreign tax law in light of their particular situation.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Cohen & Company, Ltd. located at 1350 Euclid Ave., Suite 800, Cleveland, OH 44115, serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. The firm provides services including (i) audit of annual financial statements, and (ii) assistance and consultation in connection with SEC filings.
LEGAL COUNSEL
Thompson Hine LLP, 41 South High Street, Suite 1700, Columbus, Ohio 43215, serves as the Trust’s legal counsel.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Because the Funds have only recently commenced investment operations, no financial highlights are available for the Funds at this time. In the future, financial highlights will be presented in this section of the Prospectus.
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PROXY VOTING POLICY – APPENDIX A
Policies and Procedures
Simplify Asset Management, Inc. (“SAMI” or the “Company”) has the authority to vote proxies with respect of securities in client accounts (“Client Securities”) over which the Company has voting discretion. In such cases, the Company will cast proxy votes in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the Company’s clients. Where the Company undertakes proxy voting responsibilities on behalf of multiple clients, it shall consider whether it should have different voting policies for some or all of these different clients, depending on the investment strategy and objectives of each client. These proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to deal with the complexities which may arise in cases where the Company’s interests conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of its clients and to provide a copy of proxy voting and these procedures upon client request. SAMI will also make available the record of the Company’s votes promptly upon request.
Unless contractually obligated to vote in a certain manner, the Company will reach its voting decisions independently, after appropriate investigation. It does not generally intend to delegate its decision-making or to rely on the recommendations of any third party, although it may take such recommendations into consideration. Where the Company deviates from the guidelines listed below, or depends upon a third party to make the decision, the reasons shall be documented. SAMI may consult with such other experts, such as CPA’s, investment bankers, attorneys, etc., as it deems necessary to help reach informed decisions.
The CCO is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of this policy.
SAMI generally will monitor proposed corporate actions and proxy issues regarding client securities and may take any of the following actions based on the best interests of its clients: (i) determine how to vote the proxies; (ii) abstain; or (iii) follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies.
In general, the Company will determine how to vote proxies based on reasonable judgment of the vote most likely to produce favorable financial results for its clients. Proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that maintain or strengthen the shared interests of shareholders. Proxy votes generally will be cast against proposals having the opposite effect. The Company will always consider each side of each proxy issue.
Non-Voting of Proxies
SAMI will generally not vote proxies in the following situations:
| · | Where the Company and client have agreed in advance to limit the conditions under which the Company would exercise voting authority; |
| · | Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s position, across all clients that it advises, is less than, or equal to, 1% of the total outstanding voting equity (an “immaterial position”); or |
| · | Where the Company has determined that refraining is in the best interest of the client, such as when the cost to the client of voting the proxy is greater than the expected benefit of voting (e.g. voting a foreign security that is required to be made in person). |
| · | Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s clients no longer hold that position. |
Management Proposals
Absent good reason to the contrary, the Company will generally give substantial weight to management recommendations regarding voting. This is based on the view that management is usually in the best position to know which corporate actions are in the best interests of common shareholders as a whole.
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SAMI will generally vote for routine matters proposed by issuer management, such as setting a time or place for an annual meeting, changing the name or fiscal year of the company, or voting for directors in favor of the management proposed slate. Other routine matters in which the Company will generally vote along with company management include: appointment of auditors; fees paid to board members; and change in the board structure. The Company will generally vote along with management as long as the proposal does not: i) measurably change the structure, management, control or operations of the company; ii) measurably change the terms of, or fees or expenses associated with, an investment in the company; and (iii) the proposal is consistent with customary industry standards and practices, as well as the laws of the state of incorporation applicable to the company. Routine matters may not necessitate the same level of analysis than non-routine matters.
Non-Routine Matters
Non-routine matters include such things as:
| · | Amendments to management incentive plans; |
| · | The authorization of additional common or preferred stock; |
| · | Initiation or termination of barriers to takeover or acquisition; |
| · | Mergers or acquisitions; |
| · | Changes in the state of incorporation; |
| · | Corporate reorganizations; |
| · | Term limits for board members; and |
| · | “Contested” director slates. |
In non-routine matters, the Company will attempt to be generally familiar with the questions at issue. Non-routine matters will be voted on a case-by-case basis given the complexity of many of these issues. When determining how to vote non-routine matters the Company shall conduct an issue-specific analysis, giving consideration to the potential effect on the value of a client’s investments, documentation of the analysis shall be maintained in the Company’s proxy voting files.
Processing Proxy Votes
The CCO will be responsible for determining whether each proxy is for a “routine” matter, as described above, and whether the policy and procedures set forth herein actually address the specific issue. For proxies that are not clearly “routine”, the Company, in conjunction with the CCO, will determine how to vote each such proxy by applying these policies and procedures. Upon making a decision, the proxy will be executed and returned for submission to the issuer. SAMI’s proxy voting record will be updated at the time the proxy is submitted.
An independent proxy voting advisory and research firm may be appointed as a “Proxy Service” for voting the Company’s proxies after approval by the CCO.
Periodic Testing
The Company shall evaluate compliance by periodically sampling the proxy votes it casts on behalf of its clients by sampling proxy votes that relate to proposals that are non-routine matters and require more issue-specific analysis (e.g., mergers and acquisition transactions, dissolutions, conversions, or consolidations).
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest between the Company or a principal of the Company and the Company’s clients with respect to a proxy issue conceivably may arise, for example, from personal or professional relationships with an issuer or with the directors, candidates for director, or senior executives of an issuer.
Potential conflicts of interest between the Company and its clients may arise when the Company’s relationships with an issuer or with a related third party actually conflict, or appear to conflict, with the best interests of the Company’s clients.
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If the issue is specifically addressed in these policies and procedures, the Company will vote in accordance with these policies. In a situation where the issue is not specifically addressed in these policies and procedures and an apparent or actual conflict exists, the Company shall either: i) delegate the voting decision to an independent third party; ii) inform clients of the conflict of interest and obtain advance consent of a majority of such clients for a particular voting decision; or iii) obtain approval of a voting decision from the Company’s CCO, who will be responsible for documenting the rationale for the decision made and voted.
In all such cases, the Company will make disclosures to clients of all material conflicts and will keep documentation supporting its voting decisions.
If the CCO determines that a material conflict of interest exists, the following procedures shall be followed:
| 1. | SAMI may disclose the existence and nature of the conflict to the client(s) owning the securities, and seek directions on how to vote the proxies; |
| 2. | SAMI may abstain from voting, particularly if there are conflicting client interests (for example, where client accounts hold different client securities in a competitive merger situation); or |
| 3. | SAMI may follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies. |
Disclosure to Clients
A summary of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be included in the Company’s Disclosure Brochure. The full text of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be provided to clients upon request.
Proxy Advisory Firm
When the Company retains a proxy advisory firm to provide research, voting recommendations or voting execution services, the Company shall conduct reasonable oversight to ensure the proxy advisor’s recommendations are consistent with the Company’s proxy voting policies and in the best interest of the Company’s clients and investors. The level of oversight may vary depending on (1) the scope of the investment adviser’s voting authority, and (2) the type of functions and services that the investment adviser has retained the proxy advisory firm to perform.
Periodic Advisory Firm Testing
The Company shall periodically evaluate the proxy services provided by third party providers which should consider the services, recommendations made by the provider and how the provider voted, as applicable, and consider the steps enumerated below.
When conducting oversight of a proxy advisory firm, the Company should consider taking the following steps:
| · | whether the proxy advisory firm has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze the matters for which the investment adviser is responsible for voting including the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm’s staffing, personnel, and/or technology; |
| · | the adequacy of disclosures the proxy advisory firm has provided regarding its methodologies in formulating voting recommendations, such that the Company can understand the factors underlying the proxy advisory firm’s voting recommendations |
| · | the effectiveness of the proxy advisory firm’s policies and procedures for obtaining current and accurate information relevant to matters included in its research and on which it makes voting recommendations; |
| · | the Company’s access to the proxy advisory firm’s sources of information and methodologies used in formulating voting recommendations or executing voting instructions; |
| · | the nature of any third-party information sources that the proxy advisory firm uses as a basis for its voting recommendations; |
| · | whether the proxy advisory firm has adequate policies and procedures to identify, disclose, and address actual and potential conflicts of interest. |
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Class Action Lawsuits
From time to time, securities held in the accounts of clients will be the subject of class action lawsuits. SAMI has no obligation to determine if securities held by the client are subject to a pending or resolved class action lawsuit. It also has no duty to evaluate a client’s eligibility or to submit a claim to participate in the proceeds of a securities class action settlement or verdict. Furthermore, the Company has no obligation or responsibility to initiate litigation to recover damages on behalf of clients who may have been injured because of actions, misconduct, or negligence by corporate management of issuers whose securities are held by clients.
Where the Company receives written or electronic notice of a class action lawsuit, settlement, or verdict directly relating to a client account, it will forward all notices, proof of claim forms, and other materials, to the client. Electronic mail is acceptable where appropriate if the client has authorized contact in this manner.
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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. Exhibits
| (h) | (1) | Fund Accounting and Administration Agreement3 |
| (2) | Amended Fund Accounting and Administration Agreement4 | |
| (3) | Amended Fund Accounting and Administration Agreement1 | |
| (4) | Cayman Fund Accounting and Administration Agreement1 | |
| (5) | Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement3 | |
| (6) | Amended Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement4 | |
| (7) | Amended Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement1 | |
| (8) | Operating Expense Limitation Agreement3 | |
| (9) | Operating Expense Limitation Agreement4 | |
| (i) | (1) | Legal Opinion and Consent of Thompson Hine LLP1 |
| (j) | Other Opinions. Not Applicable | |
| (k) | Not applicable. | |
| (l) | None. | |
| (m) | (1) | Distribution and Service Plan3 |
| (2) | Distribution and Service Plan4 | |
| (3) | Distribution and Service Plan1 | |
| (n) | Not applicable. | |
| (o) | Reserved. | |
| (p) | (1) | Code of Ethics of the Registrant3 |
| (2) | Code of Ethics of the Adviser3 | |
| (3) | Code of Ethics of the Sub-Adviser5 | |
| 1 | Filed herewith. |
| 2 | Filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on May 18, 2020. |
| 3 | Filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on August 19, 2020. |
| 4 | Filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on November 24, 2020. |
| 5 | Filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on December 9, 2020. |
Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Funds
None
Item 30. Indemnification
Pursuant to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the "Declaration"), every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust, including persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise ("Covered Person"), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been such a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof.
No indemnification shall be provided under the Declaration to a Covered Person to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser
A description of any other business, profession, vocation, or employment of a substantial nature in which the Adviser, and each member, director, executive officer, or partner of the Adviser, is or has been, at any time during the past two fiscal years, engaged in for his or her own account or in the capacity of member, trustee, officer, employee, partner or director, is set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Management”. Information as to the members and officers of the Adviser is included in its Form ADV as filed with the SEC (File No. 801-119255), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Volt Equity LLC is sub-adviser to the Simplify Volt Fintech Disruption ETF, Simplify Volt Pop Culture Disruption ETF, Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption and Tech ETF, and Simplify Volt Cloud and Cybersecurity Disruption ETF (file no. 801-119673).
Item 32. Principal Underwriters
(a) Foreside Financial Services, LLC (f/k/a/ BHIL Distributors, LLC) (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:
| 1. | 13D Activist Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust |
| 2. | AAMA Equity Fund, Series of Asset Management Fund |
| 3. | AAMA Income Fund, Series of Asset Management Fund |
| 4. | Advisers Investment Trust |
| 5. | AltShares Trust |
| 6. | BMO Funds, Inc. |
| 7. | BMO LGM Frontier Markets Equity Fund |
| 8. | Boston Trust Walden Funds (f/k/a The Boston Trust & Walden Funds) |
| 9. | Cook & Bynum Funds Trust |
| 10. | Diamond Hill Funds |
| 11. | Driehaus Mutual Funds |
| 12. | FlowStone Opportunity Fund |
| 13. | FNEX Ventures |
| 14. | Inspire 100 ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 15. | Inspire Corporate Bond Impact ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 16. | Inspire Global Hope ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 17. | Inspire International ESG ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 18. | Inspire Small Mid Cap Impact ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 19. | Inspire Tactical Balanced ESG ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV |
| 20. | Praxis Mutual Funds |
| 21. | Rimrock Funds Trust |
| 22. | SA Funds – Investment Trust |
| 23. | Sequoia Fund, Inc. |
| 24. | Siren ETF Trust |
(b) The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor, the Registrant’s underwriter. The Distributor’s main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101.
| Name | Address | Position with Underwriter |
Position with Registrant | |||
| Richard J. Berthy | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | President, Treasurer and Manager | None | |||
| Mark A. Fairbanks | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice-President | None | |||
| Jennifer DiValerio | 899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312 | Vice-President | None | |||
| Susan Moscaritolo | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice-President and Chief Compliance Officer | None | |||
| Jennifer E. Hoopes | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Secretary | None |
(c) Not applicable.
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
The books, accounts and other documents required by Section 31(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained in the physical possession of Simplify Asset Management, Inc., 154 W 14th Street, Floor 2 New York NY 10011 and Bank of New York Mellon 240 Greenwich St. New York, NY 10286. Foreside maintains all records relating to its services as Distributor of the Registrant at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101.
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirement for effectiveness of this registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Bexley, and State of Ohio, on the 7th day of May 2021.
| Simplify Exchange Traded Funds Trust | |||
| By: | /s/ JoAnn M. Strasser | ||
| Name: | JoAnn M. Strasser | ||
| * Pursuant to Powers of Attorney | |||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed below by the following person in the capacities and on the date indicated.
| Signature | Title | |
| Paul Kim* | President, Trustee, Treasurer and Principal Executive and Financial Officer | |
| Zung Nguyen* | Trustee | |
| Craig Enders* | Trustee | |
| Christopher Caltagirone* | Trustee |
| * | Pursuant to Powers of Attorney |
| /s/ JoAnn M. Strasser | |||
| Name: | JoAnn M. Strasser | ||
| Title: | Attorney-in-Fact | ||
| Date: | May 7, 2021 |